Paul Fishman (Friedman, Kaplan, Seiler & Adelman)

The New Jersey U.S. Attorney was sworn in today before 400 people including Attorney General Eric Holder and state dignitaries, the NBC New York Web site reported.

Some of the notable New Jerseyans, who were in attendance according to the news Web site, include:

-Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who administered the oath.

-Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.)

-Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.)

-Gov. Jon Corzine.

-Gov.-elect Chris Christie, who was the George W. Bush U.S. Attorney for New Jersey.

-Former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who served as New Jersey U.S. Attorney under President George H.W. Bush.

-New Jersey FBI Director Weysan Dun.

Holder said Fishman will be one of his top advisers, according to NBC New York. In October, the Attorney General tapped Fishman to be on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys, a body that serves as the voice of the U.S. Attorneys at Justice Department headquarters in Washington.

“I will rely on a man I trust,” Holder said at the ceremony, according to the news Web site.

Fishman officially took the helm of the U.S. Attorney’s office in October, shortly after he won Senate confirmation. He replaced acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra, who is under investigation by the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility.

OPR is probing Marra over remarks he made this summer that could have aided Christie’s campaign for governor. The comments were about a July sting, which netted more than 40 defendants. Corzine and Christie both used investigation to show their anti-corruption credentials during the heated race for governor.

Fishman said he would make sure his office is fair and ethical. He added that his office would also fight gang crime and terrorism, according to the NBC news Web site.

A prominent New Jersey Democrat is urging the Justice Department to investigate whether Chris Christie used the U.S. Attorney’s office to conduct his campaign for governor.

Frank Lautenberg (Gov)

Sen. Frank Lautenberg said it was “shocking” that former New Jersey Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Brown appeared to use her position to improperly help Christie’s campaign for governor, The Associated Press reported today.

The New York Times reported yesterday that the former Assistant U.S. Attorney was involved with processing a long-delayed Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Gov. Jon Corzine (D) campaign. The request included Brown’s travel records, which showed that Christie allowed Brown to stay at luxury hotels while on official travel.

Brown also argued for the arrests of public officials in a corruption sweep called Operation Bid Rig to occur before U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman took office, according to The Times. This was done “presumably so that Mr. Christie would be given credit for the roundup,” the newspaper said.

“It was particularly distressing that this raw political agenda came into an office with a historic reputation for fair and unbiased dispensation of justice, and Ms. Brown went so far as to try to bring political campaign objectives into the planning of law enforcement actions,” Lautenberg said in a statement.

Christie and Brown have denied the allegations.

Brown resigned in August shortly after Christie revealed that he gave a $46,000 loan to her.

Stephanie Woodrow contributed to this report.

Paul Fishman (Friedman, Kaplan, Seiler & Adelman)

Acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra, who became entangled in the bitter New Jersey gubernatorial race, will return to his old job as First Assistant U.S. Attorney after Paul Fishman is sworn in tomorrow, PolitickerNJ reported.

Fishman’s appointment was held up for several months by Republicans, who never articulated their reasons for it. But we speculated it had something to do with the nasty race between former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie (R) and Gov. Jon Corzine (D) for governor, which will finally end on Nov. 3 when voters go to the polls. The Senate confirmed Fishman as New Jersey U.S. Attorney on Oct. 7.

Marra came under Justice Department ethics investigation for remarks he made at a news conference about a major public corruption probe. The Corzine camp complained the remarks appeared designed to boost Marra’s former boss, Christie.

Marra took over the office in December, after Christie resigned to run for governor.

Marra at the July 23 Operation Bid Rig news conference that sparked an ethics inquiry into his remarks. (Getty Images)

For the past two months, Marc Larkins has been pulling double duty as the office’s Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney and Acting First Assistant. Larkins became Acting First Assistant after Michele Brown resigned in August. A loan Christie had made to her but not reported on his ethics and tax forms had become a campaign issue. Under Fishman, Larkins will continue his work as Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney, PolitickerNJ reported.

Paul Fishman (fksa)

Paul Fishman, whose nomination languished in Senate Judiciary Committee for more than three months, was confirmed tonight as the Garden State’s next U.S. Attorney. The Star-Ledger has the story. And click here for our previous coverage on the delay.

Fishman, 52, was confirmed by unanimous consent of the Senate. He will replace Ralph Marra, who has been acting U.S. Attorney since Chris Christie resigned to run for governor.

“I’m delighted, and I’m looking forward to going to work,” Fishman told The Star-Ledger. “I am very grateful to Sen. [Frank] Lautenberg and Sen. [Robert] Menendez for their confidence and their support.”

The two Democrats recommended Fishman for the post in February, and President Barack Obama nominated him in May.

Fishman takes over an office that’s been roiled by fallout from the nasty New Jersey gubernatorial campaign between former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie (R) and Gov. Jon Corzine (D). The DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility is examining whether Marra acted improperly at a news conference announcing arrests in major public corruption case; the Corzine camp construed his remarks as a slap at the ethical record of the Democratic incumbent.

The Corzine campaign has complained the office has been slow in answering their Freedom of Information Act requests seeking information about Christie’s controversial awards of lucrative court monitoring contracts to, among others, former Attorney General John Ashcroft’s firm. An Assistant U.S. Attorney in the office resigned after it was revealed Christie had loaned her money that he didn’t report on his financial disclosure forms or tax returns. And Marra lashed out at the office’s critics in an email to staff that was published on a New Jersey political blog.

Fishman (Princeton University, Harvard Law) is a partner at Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman, where he specializes in white-collar criminal matters, corporate investigations and complex civil litigation. Click here for his firm bio, and click here for our summary of his Senate questionnaire.

The Senate has now confirmed 15 U.S. Attorneys.

Attorney General Eric Holder indirectly endorsed Paul J. Fishman to fill the New Jersey U.S. Attorney job today at a Senate subcommittee hearing. ”I look forward to working with a young man from New Jersey who I think is going to be a great U.S. Attorney,” Holder said.

Paul Fishman

Although he didn’t refer to Fishman by name, the former senior adviser to Attorney General Janet Reno from 1994 to 1997  has been recommended to the White House by New Jersey’s Democratic senators, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez. Fishman, 51, was also assistant U.S. Attorney in New Jersey for 11 years.

Lautenberg greeted Holder’s remarks warmly, the Newark Star-Ledger reported. 

“I am pleased Attorney General Holder agrees with us that Paul Fishman will make a terrific U.S. attorney. I remain confident he has the knowledge, expertise and judgment to protect the people of New Jersey in the years ahead,” Lautenberg said, according to the Star-Ledger.

Fishman, by the way, isn’t so young – he’s 51.