Richard Callahan (Gov)

Richard Callahan on Friday was sworn in as the new U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, The St. Louis Business Journal reports. Callahan, who was nominated in September, was confirmed by the Senate Dec. 24.

He replaces Catherine Hanaway, who resigned in April 2009 to join the Ashcroft Group. Michael Reap had been the district’s acting U.S. Attorney.

Callahan has been a circuit judge in the 19th Judicial Circuit of Missouri, Division II since 2003. Prior to becoming a judge he worked in the Office of Prosecuting Attorney of Cole County, Mo., serving  first as an assistant prosecutor and then as a prosecuting attorney.

Two teenagers are suing a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who is currently serving a 65-year sentence for sex crimes involving the boys, The Associated Press reports. Eric Tolen was a prosecutor in the Eastern District of Missouri from 1987 until his termination in 1999.

His firing followed allegations of perjury in connection with his brother’s bank robbery trial, the unauthorized outside practice of law, making false statements to investigating officers and abusing his position and misusing government resources for personal gain. After his termination, Tolen, who claimed he was fired because of racial discrimination, brought claims against then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, then-FBI Special Agent Gary Fuhr and former Justice Department attorney Joseph Gontram.

Later, in 2008, Tolen was convicted of 36 counts of statutory sodomy for engaging in sex with teenage boys between 1995 and 2007, according to the AP. He was sentenced to two terms of 25 years for two counts of first degree statutory sodomy, five years for each of the 34 counts of second degree statutory sodomy and fined for witness tampering, the AP reports.

Two of the boys, who are now 18 years old, this week filed a lawsuit in  St. Louis County seeking $10 million in damages. In the suit the boys claim that Tolen intended to do them bodily harm, according to the AP story.

During the criminal trial, prosecutors said Tolen asked boys to help him around his home and then would ask them to perform sex acts with him in exchange for gifts, according to AP.

Over the holiday week, five U.S. Attorneys were sworn in. They are:

• James L. Santelle (Eastern District of Wisconsin): The former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin was sworn in this morning. He was confirmed Dec. 24. Santelle replaces Bush appointee Steven Biskupic. Biskupic was appointed U.S. Attorney in May 2002. In 2007, Biskupic and his office came under review by congressional investigators looking into the dismissal of U.S. Attorneys. He resigned in January 2009 to join the Milwaukee law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich as a litigator.

• Beth Phillips (Western District of Missouri): The former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri was sworn in Dec. 31. She was confirmed Dec. 24. Phillips replaces Bush appointee John Wood. Wood headed the office from 2007 to 2009 before resigning in February to join the D.C. office of a leading Wall Street law firm as a partner.

• Mike Cotter (District of Montana): The private practice attorney was sworn in Dec. 30. He was confirmed Dec. 24. Cotter replaces controversial Bush appointee William Mercer, who had held the post since 2001. Mercer wore two hats at DOJ, serving as U.S. Attorney and as Acting Associate Attorney General from September 2006 to June 2007. At DOJ headquarters, he assisted in the politicized firings of other U.S. Attorneys, congressional investigators found. A federal judge and leading Democrats in Montana had called for his resignation.

• Sanford Coats (Western District of Oklahoma): The former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Oklahoma was sworn in Dec. 30. He was confirmed Dec. 24. Coats replaces John C. Richter, who was named to head the office on an interim basis in 2005 and confirmed by the Senate in 2006. Richter resigned in August to teach law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

• Barbara McQuade (Eastern District of Michigan): The former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan was sworn in today. She was confirmed Dec. 24. McQuade replaces Stephen J. Murphy who became U.S. Attorney in 2006. In 2008 he became a federal judge in the Eastern District of Michigan.

Patrick Leahy (gov)

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Wednesday urged the Senate to confirm several nominees approved by his committee, including five Justice Department officials and two prospective U.S. Attorneys.

The nominees are:

• Dawn Johnsen, who was approved by his committee on March 19, for head of the Office of Legal Counsel.
• Mary L. Smith, who was reported out of the committee June 11, for head of the Tax Division.
• Christopher Schroeder, who was reported by the Judiciary panel  July 28, for head of the Office of Legal Policy.
• Susan B. Carbon, who was reported out of committee Dec. 3, for head of the Violence Against Women Office.
• John Laub, who was reported out of committee Dec. 3, for head of the National Institute of Justice.
• Sanford Coats, who was reported out of committee Dec. 3, for U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
• Mary Elizabeth Phillips, who was reported out of committee Dec. 3, for U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

In a press release, Leahy said, “This year we have witnessed unprecedented delays in the consideration of qualified and noncontroversial nominations,” adding,  “We have had to waste weeks seeking time agreements in order to consider nominations that were then confirmed unanimously.  I hope that instead of withholding consent and threatening filibusters of President Obama’s judicial nominees, Senate Republicans will treat the nominees of President Obama fairly.”

He continued, “During President Bush’s last year in office, we reduced judicial vacancies to as low as 34, even though it was a presidential election year.  Judicial vacancies have now spiked.  There are currently 97 vacancies on our federal circuit and district courts, and 23 more have already been announced.  This is approaching record levels.  I know we can do better.  Justice should not be delayed or denied to any American because of overburdened courts and the lack of federal judges.”

Beth Phillips (University of Chicago, University of Missouri) is nominated to be U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. She would replace John F. Wood, who resigned in February.

Her vitals:

• Born in Kirksville, Mo., in 1969.
• Has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Missouri since August 2008.
• Worked as a litigation consultant in the Western District of Missouri from June 2008 to July 2008.
• Was an associate at Bartimus, Frickleton, Robertson & Gorny in Leawood, Kan., from September 2001 to February 2008.
• Was a special prosecutor in the Jackson County, Mo., Circuit Court from 2002 to 2008.
• Worked as an assistant prosecutor in the Jackson County, Mo., prosecutor’s office from June 1997 to August 2001.
• Served as a legislative assistant to Rep. Pat Danner (D-Mo.) from January 1993 to June 1994.
• Was a legislative correspondent to the Senate Special Committee on Aging from July 1992 to December 1992.
• Tried approximately 40 cases to verdict, 90 percent of which were jury trials. Served as chief counsel in approximately 25 of the cases and associate counsel in the remainder.
• Earned a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago.

Click here for her full Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire.

UPDATE: On her Office of Government Ethics financial disclosure Phillips reports earning $12,708 from Bartimus, Frickleton, Robertson & Gorny in 2008. On her Senate Judiciary financial disclosure she reports assets of $1,193,100 and liabilities of $214,000 for a net worth of $979,100.

Richard Callahan (Gov)

Richard G. Callahan (Georgetown University, Georgetown University Law School) is nominated to replace Catherine L. Hanaway, who resigned earlier this year as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri.

His vitals:

• Born in St. Louis, Mo., 1947.
• Has been a circuit judge in the 19th Judicial Circuit of Missouri, Division II since 2003.
• Worked in the Office of Prosecuting Attorney of Cole County, Mo. Was an assistant prosecutor from 1979 to 1986 and a prosecuting attorney from 1987 to 2002.
• Was an attorney in Robert L. Hawkins Law Offices in Jefferson City, Mo., from 1988 to 1991.
• Worked as a partner at Rost & Callahan Law Firm in Jefferson City, Mo. from 1979 to 1987.
• Was a Special Assistant Attorney General in the Missouri Attorney General’s office from 1985 to 1986.
• Served as general counsel for the Missouri General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules from 1983 to 1986.
• Worked as an assistant circuit attorney in the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s office from 1972 to 1978
• Was a tax law specialist at the Internal Revenue Service from 1969 to 1972
• Worked as an advertising examiner at the Federal Trade Commission from 1968 to 1969.
• Was in the Army Reserves from 1969 to 1975. Was honorably discharged in 1975. Had the rank of Specialist E-4.
• Tried more than 165 jury cases in criminal court. Was the sole or chief counsel on all but two or three of those cases.Tried 16 jury cases in civil court. Was the sole or chief counsel on all of the cases.

Click here for his full questionnaire.

UPDATE: According to his Office of Government Ethics financial disclosure, Callahan earns a salary of $127,582 as a judge. Of interesting note, last year he earned $7,600  from “40 Racing Pigeons.” He also does not report any liabilities. However on his Senate Judiciary financial disclosure Callahan reports assets valued at $238,300 and liabilities of $120,500 for a net worth of $117,800.

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft is campaigning today in Missouri with Rep. Roy Blunt (R), the former House Majority Whip who is running for the U.S. Senate from of Missouri, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Roy Blunt (house.gov)

Blunt’s son, Matt Blunt, is the former Republican governor of Missouri. Matt Blunt now works for The Ashcroft Group, Ashcroft’s security and legal consulting firm. Ashcroft is a former Missouri state attorney general and U.S. Senator.

Controversy is swirling around two Bush-era officials in an obscure Justice Department office, The Washington Post reported today.

The U.S. Parole Commission — which handles people convicted under D.C. law and under the old federal system — is under scrutiny for  then-Commissioner Deborah Spagnoli’s decision to contact then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about an inmate set to be released, and the apparent efforts of outgoing Chairman Edward F. Reilly Jr. to secure funds to improve a Missouri highway through his hometown.

Spagnoli, who resigned in 2007, lobbied Justice Department members to intercede in the case of Ver0nza Bowers Jr., who was convicted in the 1973 murder of a San Francisco park ranger, The Post said. Bowers has maintained his innocence, and in 2005, he was set to be released.

The then-commissioner, who has called Bowers “an unrepentant murderer,” tried to contact the infamous Office of Legal Counsel lawyer Steven G. Bradbury and Gonzales Chief of Staff D. Kyle Sampson about the case, The Post said.

In an unprecedented move, Gonzales asked the Parole Commission to “clarify” its “initial decision,” according to The Post. The commission then voted to keep Bowers behind bars, The Post said. Following the vote, she wrote an e-mail to a DOJ official that simply said: “victory,” according to The Post.

“I never campaigned to deny parole to Veronza Bowers,” she said in a statement to The Post. “I do not believe there was any impropriety in reviewing the case and the applicable law and providing a summary to the Attorney General who has a statutory right to appeal certain parole commission decisions.”

As for Reilly, he is being investigated by the inspector general’s office for his repeated attempts to have government officials improve Missouri Highway 92, which runs through his hometown of Leavenworth, Kan. This came to light through the work of Spagnoli’s husband, D.C. Assistant U.S. Attorney, William Woodruff, to made letters surrounding the lobbying effort public.

“I never really thought about it until you brought it to my attention,” Reilly told The Post. “I’m very sorry it occurred.”

Spagnoli maintained to The Post that she’s not involved with what her husband is doing, but has complained about Reilly turning the commission into his “personal little fiefdom,” according to The Post.

And another twist: there was someone who visited Reilly’s office on a Sunday in 2006 and copied 68 pages of his personal papers, The Post said. Of the four people who visited the office that day, one was Spagnoli. She declined to comment to The Post on her weekend visit.

Students and faculty at Truman State University are protesting the college’s decision to give former Attorney General John Ashcroft a honorary degree, The Associcated Press reported today.

The Missouri liberal arts college wants to reward the former governor of the state for his efforts to improve the stature of the state university. But more 300 people at Truman State signed a petition to express their discontent with the college’s decision, citing Ashcroft’s support of the harsh interrogation methods used against suspected terrorists as a reason for their disapproval. They also plan to hold a silent protest during his speech at the commencement.

“We’re not just recognizing him, we’re giving him an honorary degree, and that’s a big deal,” Truman State senior Hannah Hemmelgarn told The Columbia Daily Tribune. “I don’t think he represents what we want to condone. … One passage in our strategic plan is that Truman students should be responsible global citizens. Gosh, you know, I really don’t think Ashcroft represents that.”