People familiar with the Philadelphia U.S. Attorney selection process are pointing fingers at Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) for delays in candidate vetting, the Philadelphia Daily News reported today.

Arlen Specter (Gov)

The selection of a nominee for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania post is likely some time away, individuals familiar with the process told the Daily News. The Justice Department is reviewing several candidates for the job, because Specter and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) were unable to agree on a single candidate to recommend to the White House last month, according to the newspaper.

Senators who are in the same party as the president traditionally make joint recommendations to the White House. This means the U.S. Attorney recommendations would have been in Casey’s hands before Specter switched parties in April. Specter was included in the selection process when he became a Democrat, complicating the matter, according to the Daily News.

A Specter spokesperson declined to comment to the newspaper. Larry Smar, a spokesperson for Casey, told the Daily News that he didn’t “have a sense of when a nomination will be made.”

The newspaper said the following lawyers are thought to be among the finalists for the U.S. Attorney post, which was held by Patrick Meehan, who resigned in July 2008 and is running for a House seat in Pennsylvania:

• Cheryl A. Krause, a partner at Dechert LLP and former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

• James Eisenhower, a partner at Schnader Harrison Segal and Lewis LLP and former Eastern District Assistant U.S. Attorney.

• J. Huntley Palmer of JP Morgan Chase & Co. and a former Eastern District Assistant U.S. Attorney.

The three possible finalists declined to comment to the Daily News.

This post has been corrected from an earlier version.

Interviews for candidates hoping to snag one of the three U.S. Attorney positions in Pennsylvania will begin this Friday, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Senator Specter and Casey Discuss US Airways proposed cuts in Pittsburgh (senate.gov)

While the U.S. Attorney selection process in Pennsylvanie is very secretive, the Post-Gazette does know that there are over 40 candidates applying for the Western, Middle, and Eastern District positions.  Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senators, Bob Casey and Arlen Specter, have selected 16 members to serve on the panel conducting the interviews.

The Post-Gazette also reported the names of some of the candidates believed to be applying to replace U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan in the Western District:

• Allegheny County Deputy District Attorney Bruce Beemer
• Attorney Efrem M. Grail with Reed Smith LLP
• Attorney David Hickton of Burns, White & Hickton
• Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman
• Assistant U.S. Attorney Tina O. Miller

Responding to the controversy surrounding Buchanan, Paul Titus, an attorney who has served on state committees to name both judges and federal prosecutors, assured the Post-Gazette that ”I did not detect that politics played any role” in the selection of U.S. Attorneys; ”We tried to purposely stay away from that. We wanted to come up with the best names for the position.”  Titus also indicated that federal prosecutors who had been in private practice make “good candidate[s],” as opposed to career prosecutors.

Laurie Magid (usdoj)

We previously reported that rumored candidates to take over the Eastern District include: Lynne Abraham, James G. Colins, Ken Trujillo, Amy Kurland, Walter M. Phillips Jr., James Eisenhower, Jack Stollsteimer, Geoff Moulton, Huntley J. Palmer Jr., Michael Levy, Elizabeth Ainslie, Jane Cutler Greenspan, A. Roy DeCaro, and L.C. Wright.  The interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District is Michael Levy, who took over after interim U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid resigned amid controversy over a DOJ IG investigation into her fund raising activities for her predecessor U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan, and a negative DOJ review of her management.  Magid had only been holding the post since February, when she was appointed to succeed Meehan, who resigned last July.  Meehan is currently eyeing the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania, returning some suspect campaign contibutions last week.

The committee will be reviewing 30-question applications, with resumes, and attached legal briefs and opinions.  In past years, interviews have taken place over two rounds, and each applicant has gotten 20-40 minutes of face-time with the panel.

The abrupt exit of interim U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia Laurie Magid, which we reported on last week, has added new fire to the search for a replacement.

Here are some of the names currently being floated around for the positions:

Philadelphia’s new interim U.S. attorney, Michael L. Levy, who has spent most of his legal career in the federal office, is said to be interested in the nomination, as are several former prosecutors from the office, including Elizabeth K. Ainslie, James J. Eisenhower, J. Huntley Palmer, and Philadelphia Inspector General Amy Kurland.

Other Democrats seeking the nomination include state Supreme Court Justice Jane Cutler Greenspan, [District Attorney Lynne M.] Abraham, and A. Roy DeCaro, a former federal prosecutor and assistant district attorney. Assistant U.S. Attorney L.C. Wright, a longtime prosecutor still in the office, also is said to be interested.

Other names that have been mentioned in the past include: James G. Colins, Ken Trujillo, Walter M. Phillips Jr., Jack Stollsteimer, and Geoff Moulton.

It will be interesting to see how much influence Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) will have over nominations for the three available U.S. Attorney posts in Pennsylvania.  Specter will be working with his colleague Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) to come up with recommendations for President Obama.

A June 5 deadline was set by Casey for applicants seeking the U.S. Attorney positions.