Matthew Whitaker (DOJ)

Former Southern District of Iowa U.S. Attorney Matthew Whitaker will serve as chairman of Dave Jamison’s campaign  for Iowa state treasurer, IowaPolitics.com reported Friday.

“Iowa needs a watchdog and protector of taxpayer dollars, and that is why I’m supporting Dave Jamison for State Treasurer,” Whitaker said in a news release. Jamison added: “As U.S. Attorney, Matt was a government watchdog and worked tirelessly to protect taxpayer dollars. He will be a great asset to my team and I’m proud to have him on board.”

Jamison has been treasurer of Story County for 15 years and is a long-time GOP activist. He is running for the Republican nomination to face 28-year incumbent Michael Fitzgerald.

Whitaker was the top federal prosecutor in the Des Moines-based district from 2004 until last November. Whitaker, a George W. Bush appointee, was succeeded by Des Moines lawyer Nick Klinefeldt, President Barack Obama’s nominee who was confirmed by the Senate last November.

Among the most significant prosecutions handled by Whitaker’s office during his tenure were a child pornography investigation called Operation Wirebreaker and the conviction of 30 people in an immigration and identity theft case, he told the Associated Press last year. He also told the news wire he planed to practice law in Des Moines after leaving office.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa offered his resignation to President Barack Obama, The Associated Press reported today.

Matthew Whitaker (DOJ)

Matthew Whitaker, a Bush holdover, said he will step down when his successor takes office. Nick Klinefeldt, Obama’s nominee to replace Whitaker, was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Whitaker has been the top federal prosecutor in the Southern District since 2004.

The U.S. Attorney, like many Bush holdovers still in office, appears to be waiting until the last minute to step down. His Bush counterpart in the Northern District of Iowa,  Matt Dummermuth, still hasn’t publicly announced his plans to resign even though Obama nominee Stephanie Rose is waiting in the wings.

A child pornography investigation called Operation Wirebreaker and the conviction of 30 people in an immigration and identity theft case were among the most significant prosecutions handled by his office during his tenure, Whitaker told The AP.

Whitaker told the news wire he plans to practice law in Des Moines after leaving office.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved three U.S. Attorney nominees by unanimous consent at its business meeting this morning.

They are:

Nick Klinefeldt (Ahlers & Cooney)

-Nick Klinefeldt (Southern District of Iowa): The Des Moines lawyer was nominated Sept. 25. He would replace Matthew G. Whitaker, who has served as U.S. Attorney since 2004. We previously reported that the lawyer has been able to rise above the past of his father, Michael Arthur Klinefeldt, who is serving a 10-year sentence on a methamphetamine conviction. Read more about Klinefeldt here.

Stephanie Rose

-Stephanie Rose (Northern District of Iowa): The Northern District of Iowa Assistant U.S. Attorney was nominated Sept. 25. She would succeed Matt Dummermuth, a Bush U.S. Attorney who never won Senate confirmation. Immigration lawyers and immigrant rights advocates have questioned Rose’s role in a controversial round-up of 300 undocumented immigrants working at a meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa, last year. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said in May that Rose didn’t take part in the decision to prosecute the immigrant workers. Read more about Rose here.

Kenyen Brown (Main Justice file photo)

-Kenyen Brown (Southern District of Alabama): The House Ethics Committee staffer and former Southern District of Alabama Assistant U.S. Attorney was nominated Aug. 6. Brown would succeed Deborah Rhodes, who resigned April 17. Read more about the nominee here.

The panel has now approved 24 U.S. Attorneys, including the 18 U.S. Attorneys who have been confirmed by the Senate. There are another five U.S. Attorney nominees who have not been considered by the committee yet. There are 93 U.S. Attorney positions nationwide.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on the Iowa U.S. Attorney nominees Thursday, the panel announced today.

They are:

Nick Klinefeldt (Ahlers & Cooney)

-Nick Klinefeldt (Southern District of Iowa): The Des Moines lawyer would replace Matthew G. Whitaker, who has served as U.S. Attorney since 2004. We previously reported that the lawyer has been able to rise above the past of his father, Michael Arthur Klinefeldt, who is serving a 10-year sentence on a methamphetamine conviction. Read more about Klinefeldt here.

Stephanie Rose

-Stephanie Rose (Northern District of Iowa): The Northern District of Iowa Assistant U.S. Attorney would succeed Matt Dummermuth, a Bush U.S. Attorney who never won Senate confirmation. Immigration lawyers and immigrant rights advocates have questioned Rose’s role in a controversial round-up of 300 undocumented immigrants working at a meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa, last year. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said in May that Rose didn’t take part in the decision to prosecute the immigrant workers. Read more about Rose here.

The panel is also slated to consider Southern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney nominee Kenyen Brown at the meeting Thursday.

Another six U.S. Attorney candidates have been nominated so far, but they haven’t come before the committee yet.

Nick Klinefeldt (Ahlers & Cooney)

Nicholas Klinefeldt (University of Iowa, University of Iowa College of Law) has been nominated to replace Matthew G. Whitaker as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa.

His vitals:

• Born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1974.
• Attended Des Moines Area Community College and Drake University.
• Has been an associate at Ahlers & Cooney, P .C. since March 2006.
• Served as counsel for the Iowa Democratic Party in Des Moines from fall 2006 to March 2009.
• Worked as state counsel to the 2008 Obama presidential campaign in Des Moines, from August 2008 to November 2008.
• Was an associate at Kelly, Libby & Hoopes, P.C. in Boston, Mass., from September 2003 to February 2006.
• Clerked in the Massachusetts Court of Appeals from September 2002 to August 2003.
• Worked as a law clerk for Judge Robert W. Pratt in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa from August 2000 to August 2002.
• Clerked for Tindal, Erdahl, Goddard & Nestor, P.C. in Iowa City, Iowa, from fall 1998 to spring 1999 and from fall 1999 to summer 2000.
• Was a law clerk for Federal Public Defender in Des Moines during the summer of 1999.
• Worked as a summer counselor at Camp Dodge in Johnston, Iowa, during the summer of 1998.
• Was a staff assistant to the legislative director for Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) from February 1997 to August 1997.
• Was a field organizer/regional field organizer on Harkin’s campaign from January 1996 to November 1996.
• Has tried one federal criminal case to verdict at a jury trial as sole counsel, approximately three to five to judgment in front of a magistrate in small claims court as sole counsel and one attorney disciplinary matter to final decision in front of a three-attorney panel as associate counsel.

Click here for his full Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire.

UPDATE: On his Senate Judiciary financial disclosure Klinefeldt reported assets of $296,300 (mostly from his personal residence valued at $242,000). However, Klinefeldt still owes $218,400 on the property, owes $61,800 in student loans and has credit card debt. In total, Klinefeldt has liabilities of $289,100, resulting in a net worth of $7,200.

From his current job as an associate with the law firm Ahlers & Cooney PC in Des Moines, Iowa, Klinefeldt receives a salary of $156,221.76, according to his Office of Government Ethics disclosure. He also hold various investment accounts, valued at between $37,009 and $205,000. He does not report owning any property. Klinefeldt’s debt includes two loans at between $65,002 and $150,000

President Obama nominated U.S. Attorneys for Missouri, Montana and Iowa today.

They are:

Richard Callahan (Gov)

-Richard G. Callahan (Eastern District of Missouri): The Cole County, Mo., Circuit Court judge would replace Michael Reap, who has been acting U.S. Attorney since Catherine Hanaway resigned in April to join former Attorney General John Ashcroft’s law firm.

-Michael W. Cotter (Montana): The Helena, Mont. lawyer would succeed controversial Bush holdover Bill Mercer, who has been U.S. Attorney since 2001. Mercer was criticized for being the Justice Department’s Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General and Associate Attorney General in Washington, D.C., for almost two years, while simultaneously serving as Montana U.S. Attorney. He has also come under fire for his role in the politicized firings of U.S. Attorneys in 2006.

Nick Klinefeldt (Ahlers & Cooney)

-Nick Klinefeldt (Southern District of Iowa): The Des Moines, Iowa lawyer would replace Matthew G. Whitaker, who has served as U.S. Attorney since 2004. We reported earlier this month that the lawyer has been able to rise above the past of his father, Michael Arthur Klinefeldt, who is serving a 10-year sentence on a methamphetamine conviction.

Stephanie Rose

-Stephanie Rose (Northern District of Iowa): The Northern District of Iowa Assistant U.S. Attorney would succeed Matt Dummermuth, a Bush U.S. Attorney who never won Senate confirmation. Immigration lawyers and immigrant rights advocates have questioned Rose’s role in a controversial round-up of 300 undocumented immigrants working at a meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa last year. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said in May that Rose didn’t take part in the decision to prosecute the immigrant workers.

Read more about the nominees here.

Obama has now made a total of 27 U.S. Attorney nominations. The full Senate has considered 11 of those nominees and they were all confirmed by unanimous consent.

The Midwest has been hit hard by meth. Law enforcement devotes significant resources to combatting the illegal drug. All of which puts Des Moines lawyer Nick Klinefeldt, who is Sen. Tom Harkin’s choice for Iowa Southern District U.S. Attorney, in an unusual position.

Klinefeldt’s father, Michael Arthur Klinefeldt, is serving a 10-year sentence on a methamphetamine conviction, according to court records. Nick Klinefeldt declined to comment. A spokesman for Harkin said the candidate’s father’s conviction isn’t an issue.  ”It is Nick, not his father, who is up for consideration,” Bergen Kenny wrote in an e-mail. ”Senator Harkin believes that Nick will fully and fairly enforce the law and should be considered for U.S. Attorney based on his credentials.”

The elder Klinefeldt is slated to be released from federal prison in 2012.

Klinefeldt is a former aide to Harkin. He also served as general counsel for the Iowa Democratic party until earlier this year and as a lawyer for the Obama for President campaign in Iowa, according to the Iowa Independent, which reported in March that Harkin had recommended him for the U.S. Attorney post.

Nick Klinefeldt (Ahlers & Cooney)

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa regularly oversees prosecutions of methamphetamine manufacturers and users. The office announced 14 successful meth-related prosecutions this year, including four convictions last month.

The elder Klinefeldt was nabbed in a 2002 incident, according to court documents. On an October evening seven years ago, Michael Arthur Klinefeldt and another man, identified as William Jon DeMoss Jr., were riding in a minivan that contained a meth lab. (Read the criminal complaint here and other court documents here.) Acting on a tip, a deputy in the Polk County Sherriff’s Office stopped the van.

The police officer reported the van smelled of ether and ammonia — substances used to manufacture meth. A analysis showed the lab produced more than 5 grams of meth and had the materials necessary to make more of the drug.

A camouflage fanny pack with a loaded .22 caliber revolver in it was also discovered in the vehicle. Klinefeldt told the police officer that DeMoss wore the fanny pack when they were making the meth in a Des Moines forest, records show.

A federal judge sentenced Klinefeldt to prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. This was his second meth-related conviction. Klinefeldt was also convicted in 1993 for conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.

Tom Harkin (Gov)

Harkin recommended Nick Klinefeldt to replace the current U.S. Attorney, Matthew G. Whitaker, who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2004.

Klinefeldt, 35, works in the general litigation department of Des Moines law firm Ahlers & Cooney. He is not a partner at his firm. He previously practiced complex civil and criminal litigation in Boston.

The U.S. Attorney candidate clerked for U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa Judge Robert W. Pratt from 2000 to 2002 and Massachusetts Appeals Court Chief Justice Christopher J. Armstrong and Justice Benjamin Kaplan from 2002 to 2003.

He also has strong ties to Harkin, having worked for the senator’s 1996 reelection campaign and on his Senate staff before attending law school at the University of Iowa, according to the Radio Iowa blog. In 2008, he donated $500 to Harkin’s campaign and $500 to the Obama presidential campaign, records show. He also gave $1000 to the Iowa Democratic Party between 2007 and 2008.