President Barack Obama has nominated Assistant U.S. Attorney Felicia Adams to lead the Northern District of Mississippi U.S. Attorney’s Office, a move that was a year in the making.

Adams, a prosecutor in the Southern District of Mississippi, emerged as a candidate for the Oxford, Miss., post in March 2010. State Sen. Gray Tollison and criminal defense attorney Christi McCoy, who are both from Oxford, also were considered for the post. Northern District of Mississippi Assistant U.S. Attorney Curtis Ivy also had been mentioned as a candidate for the job.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) took the lead on selecting U.S. Attorney candidates for Mississippi’s congressional Democrats.

Thompson formally recommended McCoy for the position in 2009. But McCoy’s ties to a local private investigator, who was under investigation for his billing practices, dogged her candidacy. The Northern District U.S. Attorney’s office, which handed the case, dropped its probe last year, clearing McCoy.

Adams has spent more than two decades with the Justice Department. She was at the Northern District of Mississippi U.S. Attorney’s Office from 1989 to 2000 before joining the Southern District of Mississippi U.S. Attorney’s Office.

She also was Legal Counsel to then-Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus (D) from 1988 to 1989 and clerked for U.S. District Judge Odell Horton of the Western District of Tennessee from 1984 to 1985.

Adams received her undergraduate degree from Jackson State University in 1981 and her law degree from the University of Mississippi in 1984.

The Northern District of Mississippi U.S. Attorney’s Office has been led by interim U.S. Attorney John Marshall Alexander since December. He replaced Bill Martin, who had led the office since U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee, a George W. Bush appointee, resigned Jan. 31.

Obama on Wednesday also renominated S. Amanda Marshall of Oregon and Thomas Gray Walker of the Eastern District of North Carolina for U.S. Attorney posts. The Senate sent their nominations back to the president in December when the body failed to vote on the nominees before it adjourned.

These nominations are Obama’s first U.S. Attorney nominations for the year. The Senate has confirmed 76 of Obama’s U.S. Attorneys thus far. There are 93 U.S. Attorney posts across the nation.

Obama has yet to name a nominee for Southern District of Mississippi U.S. Attorney. Lawyers Deborah McDonald of Natchez, Kathy Nester of Jackson, Dorsey Carson of Jackson and Constance Slaughter-Harvey of Forest have been mentioned as possible candidates for the post.

This story has been updated.

A federal prosecutor this week dismissed the remaining charges against an FBI agent in Mississippi who contended that the case against him was an act of retaliation by a former U.S. Attorney.

Jim Greenlee was the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi when FBI agent Hal Neilson was indicted in January on five counts that he lied about his financial interest in the bureau’s Oxford building. He was found not guilty on two counts in November, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Bourgeois threw out the remaining counts against Neilson on Wednesday.

Neilson’s defense team asked U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock in November to allow the jury in his trial to consider the agent’s claims that Greenlee improperly targeted him. The judge sided with prosecutors, who said the agent should take his allegations up with the court, not a jury.

Christi McCoy, who was once the front-runner to succeed Greenlee as U.S. Attorney, led Neilson’ defense. The White House is now considering state Sen. Gray Tollison and Southern District of Mississippi Assistant U.S. Attorney Felicia Adams for the post.

“I can’t fathom a better Christmas gift — not just for Hal and his family, but for the justice system as a whole,” McCoy told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal after the remaining charges were dropped. “This is a step in the right direction to ‘right the wrongs’ committed against Hal.”

Greenlee declined comment to Main Justice.

The agent had a contentious relationship with Greenlee during his tenure as the U.S. Attorney in Oxford from 2001 to January 2010.

Neilson asked for whistleblower status a few years ago, when he reported concerns that Greenlee’s office had improperly targeted local Muslims for investigation after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The investigation didn’t unearth any ties to terrorism, but prosecutors charged about 60 individuals with selling large amounts of pseudoephedrine, used to make methamphetamine.

Neilson butted heads with Greenlee another time over an investigation in 2005 into the alleged mismanagement of a state-sponsored beef processing plant, and accusations that three Georgia businessmen improperly sought to influence then-Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D) to gain access to the beef project.

The agent was removed from the investigation after about a year. His supervisors told him that Greenlee had complained about the pace of the investigation, which brought five convictions. (Musgrove was never indicted.)

Neilson also reportedly raised ethics concerns about a 2009 book that a former Northern District of Mississippi Assistant U.S. Attorney, Tom Dawson, wrote about his prosecution of billionaire Mississippi trial lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs in a judicial bribery scandal.

A federal judge in Mississippi ruled that an FBI agent accused of lying about his financial interest in an Oxford building cannot claim that his case was an act of retaliation by a former U.S. Attorney, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock sided with prosecutors, who said FBI agent Hal Neilson should take his allegations of improper targeting by former Northern District of Mississippi U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee up with the court, not a jury. Greenlee, who served from 2001 until January 2010, was U.S. Attorney when Neilson was indicted.

The FBI agent was indicted in January on charges that he did not report his financial interest in the bureau’s Oxford building and later lied about his ownership. He pleaded not guilty and is free on bail.

Nielson requested whistleblower status a couple of years ago, when he reported concerns that Greenlee’s office had improperly targeted local Muslims for investigation after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The probe didn’t uncover any terrorist links, but prosecutors charged about 60 individuals with selling large amounts of pseudoephedrine, used to make methamphetamine.

The agent also reportedly raised ethics concerns about a book that a former Northern District of Mississippi Assistant U.S. Attorney, Tom Dawson, wrote about his prosecution of billionaire Mississippi trial lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs in a judicial bribery scandal.

Nielson is represented by Christi McCoy, who was once the frontrunner to succeed Greenlee as U.S. Attorney. The White House is now considering state Sen. Gray Tollison and Southern District of Mississippi Assistant U.S. Attorney Felicia Adams for the post.

His trial is slated to begin Nov. 8.

A Southern District of Mississippi prosecutor is in the mix for the Northern District of Mississippi U.S. Attorney nomination, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told Main Justice Friday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Felicia Adams is being considered by the Obama administration for the Northern Mississippi slot, even though Thompson formally recommended Oxford, Miss., criminal defense attorney Christi McCoy for the post last summer.

Bennie Thompson (Gov)

McCoy was dogged by controversy because of her affiliation with a local private investigator who was under investigation for his billing practices. The Northern District U.S. Attorney’s office, which was handling the case, dropped its probe earlier this year, clearing McCoy.

Thompson, who is taking the lead on selecting U.S. attorney candidates for Mississippi’s congressional Democrats, said the White House is reviewing both Adams and McCoy for the post. He said he supports both of the candidates.

When asked who put Adams’ name forward, Thompson said she was “already in the system” since she previously worked in the Northern District.

“I was asked if I know her and I said, ‘Yes, she’s a good person’,” the Mississippi Democrat said.

Northern District of Mississippi Assistant U.S. Attorney Curtis Ivy has also been mentioned as a candidate for the position. Thompson met with Ivy in Washington last July, but the House member said at the time they didn’t discuss the U.S. Attorney post.

Thompson said Friday that he “didn’t know that [Ivy] was in the running.”

The Mississippi Democrat said he hopes the Obama administration will make a nomination soon.

“It’s taking an awfully long time,” Thompson said. “One of the situations you run into is: how long can a person put their career on hold?”

Obama’s pick to lead the Oxford-based U.S. Attorney’s office would succeed Jim M. Greenlee, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney Jan. 31.

U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee on Wednesday announced he will retire as the top federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Mississippi on Jan. 31, The Associated Press reports. The Bush holdover has been the district’s U.S. Attorney since 2001.

Over the weekend, we reported that Greenlee would be leaving his post soon, as Gina Phillips Kilgore, chief deputy for operations at the U.S. District Court in Oxford, Miss., sent out an e-mail titled “Jim Greenlee Retirement Reception.” A copy of the email was forwarded to The Daily Journal of Mississippi.

President Obama has yet to nominate a replacement for Greenlee. Oxford-based defense lawyer Christi McCoy has been under consideration for the job, but we reported last month that her candidacy stalled over questions about her affiliation with a private investigator under investigation for allegedly padding his bills.

Mississippi lawyers have told us Greenlee wrote a letter to the Justice Department about McCoy’s ties to the private investigator, but Greenlee’s office has declined to say whether such a letter exists. Main Justice submitted a Freedom of Information Act request in November asking for a copy of any letter, if it exists.

McCoy was recommended for the U.S. Attorney post by Mississippi Reps. Bennie Thompson and Travis Childers, both Democrats.

McCoy once worked at the law firm of Joey Langston — who pleaded guilty to conspiring with Scruggs to bribe a judge. She also represented former state auditor Steve Patterson, who pleaded guilty in another Scruggs-related judicial bribery case.

Another possible candidate is Assistant U.S. Attorney Curtis Ivy.

U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee soon will be leaving his post as the top federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Mississippi, The Daily Journal of Mississippi reports. The Bush holdover has been the district’s U.S. Attorney since 2001.

Greenlee’s departure has been rumored for months, amid various reports that made his Oxford-based office seem something of a soap opera.

The latest: Mississippi journalist Patsy Brumfield reports that an FBI agent who was indicted last week for failing to disclose a personal financial interest in the FBI building in Oxford had sought whistle blower status a couple of years ago after reporting concerns that Greenlee’s office had improperly targeted area Muslims for investigation after the 9/11 attacks.

The so-called Convenience Store Initiative didn’t find any terrorist links, but prosecutors did end up charging some 60 people with selling excessive amounts of pseudoephedrine, used to make methamphetamine, an illegal drug.

The agent, Hal Neilson, also reportedly raised ethics concerns about a book that a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the district, Tom Dawson, wrote about his prosecution of billionaire Mississippi trial lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs in a judicial bribery scandal, Brumfield wrote. Read our previous report on Dawson’s book here.

Greenlee and the office’s spokesman have declined to comment about his rumored departure.

On Friday, Gina Phillips Kilgore, chief deputy for operations at the U.S. District Court in Oxford, Miss., on Friday sent out an email titled “Jim Greenlee Retirement Reception.” A copy of the email was forwarded to The Daily Journal.

The email indicated the retirement party will take place on Jan. 29 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Oxford-University United Methodist All-Purpose Center, The Daily Journal reported.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Martin reportedly will serve as the office’s interim U.S. Attorney, according to The Daily Journal.

President Obama has yet to nominate a replacement for Greenlee. Oxford-based defense lawyer Christi McCoy has been under consideration for the job. We reported last month that her candidacy stalled over questions about her affiliation with a private investigator under investigation for allegedly padding his bills.

Mississippi lawyers have told us Greenlee wrote a letter to the DOJ about McCoy’s ties to the private investigator, but Greenlee’s office has declined to say whether such a letter exists. Main Justice submitted a Freedom of Information Act request in November asking for a copy of any letter, if it exists.

McCoy was recommended for the U.S. Attorney post by Mississippi Reps. Bennie Thompson and Travis Childers, both Democrats.

McCoy once worked at the law firm of Joey Langston — who pleaded guilty to conspiring with Scruggs to bribe a judge. She also represented former state auditor Steve Patterson, who pleaded guilty in another Scruggs-related judicial bribery case.

For more on McCoy’s candidacy, click here.

Joe Palazzolo contributed to this report.

For the first time in this administration, Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorneys nominated by President Barack Obama outnumber Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorneys nominated by former President George W. Bush.

As of the end of November, more than 10 months into Obama’s presidency, the score was 24 Obama U.S. Attorneys to 21 Bush U.S. Attorneys, according to a review of Justice Department and congressional records. And of the 48 acting and interim U.S. Attorneys, just seven were appointed during the Bush administration.

Stephanie Villafuerte (gov)

The figures represent a watershed for the Obama administration, which has made halting progress filling the nation’s 93 U.S. Attorneys positions amid political resistance and a crowded legislative agenda.

On Monday, the U.S. Attorney nominee for Colorado, Stephanie Villafuerte, pulled her name from consideration, offering a public view of one of several nomination battles unfolding in districts across the country. Villafuerte, the first Obama U.S. Attorney nominee to withdraw, faced questions from Republicans over whether she accessed a restricted federal database for political purposes.

Meanwhile, in Mississippi’s Northern District, Oxford-based criminal defense lawyer Christi McCoy’s candidacy has foundered. People in Mississippi legal circles said Republicans raised questions about her affiliation with a private investigator under investigation for allegedly padding his bills and submitting false claims. (McCoy, like many other defense lawyers in Mississippi, used the P.I. in her practice.)

McCoy was recommended for the U.S. Attorney post by Mississippi Reps. Bennie Thompson and Travis Childers, both Democrats.

Leura Canary (gov)

And in Alabama, Montgomery criminal defense lawyer Joe Van Heest appears to be out of the running for Middle District U.S. Attorney after objections from Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), one person familiar with the situation said. Van Heest, who was recommended by Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), had been fully vetted by the White House months ago. But the administration never went forward with a nomination.

As a result, a controversial Bush-holder U.S. Attorney, Leura Canary, remains in charge of the Montgomery-based office. Democrats have criticized Canary for prosecuting former Gov. Don Siegelman (D) on public corruption charges. The Justice Department opposes Siegelman’s Supreme Court appeal of his 2006 conviction.

The White House has shown little appetite for these and other feuds, preferring to reservoir political capital for legislative goals such as health-care reform.

Attorney General Eric Holder has said the Obama administration is treading cautiously in nominating U.S. Attorneys, in part because of lingering sensitivities to politicization in the Justice Department. In an October interview with National Public Radio, Holder said he hoped the offices would be filled by the first part of 2010, but that appears unlikely, with fewer than one-third of the U.S. Attorneys confirmed heading into the New Year.

Eric Holder (Photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice)

One administration official said Holder is frustrated with the pace of the nominations, which thus far has been set by the White House. And several Justice officials are now privately questioning the wisdom of leaving Bush-appointed U.S. Attorneys in place until their successors are confirmed, a tack Obama took to preserve continuity and avoid political pitfalls after the scandal over prosecutor firings.

More than twice as many Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorneys were in place by this time in the first year of the previous two administrations. In the Bush administration, the Senate had confirmed 58 U.S. Attorneys by the end of November 2001, congressional records show. President Bill Clinton, by comparison, had moved 57 U.S. Attorneys through the confirmation process by the end of November 1993.

Nominations, too, have been slow in coming, reinforcing the notion that the top rather than the bottom of the process is knotted. Obama has sent 34 U.S. Attorney nominations to the Senate to date. Bush had nominated more than 60 U.S. Attorneys and Clinton more than 70 U.S. Attorneys by this time in their first terms.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the figures, referring a reporter to Holder’s previous statements on U.S. Attorney nominations.

To read our previous most recent accounting of U.S. Attorney nominees, click here. And to view our interactive U.S. Attorney chart, click here.

Below are lists of Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorneys.

Nominated by Obama:

• Timothy Heaphy (Western District of Virginia)
• Karen Loeffler (District of Alaska)
• Brendan Johnson (District of South Dakota)
• Paul Fishman (District of New Jersey)
• Kenyen Brown (Southern District of Alabama)
• Stephanie Rose (Northern District of Iowa)
• Nick Klinefeldt (Southern District of Iowa)
• Benjamin Wagner (Eastern District of California)
• Ed Tarver (Southern District of Georgia)
• Carmen Ortiz (District of Massachusetts)
• Joyce Vance (Northern District of Alabama)
• B. Todd Jones (District of Minnesota)
• John Kacavas (District of New Hampshire)
• Preet Bharara (Southern District of New York)
• Tristram Coffin (District of Vermont)
• Dennis Burke (District of Arizona)
• Daniel Bogden (District of Nevada)
• Steve Dettelbach (Northern District of Ohio)
• Carter Stewart (Southern District of Ohio)
• Peter Neronha (District of Rhode Island)
• Neil MacBride (Eastern District of Virginia)
• Florence Nakakuni (District of Hawaii)
• Deborah Gilg (District of Nebraska)
• Jenny Durkan (Western District of Washington)

Nominated by Bush:

• Leura Canary (Middle District of Alabama)
• Joseph Russoniello (Northern District of California)
• A. Brian Albritton (Middle District of Florida)
• Leonardo Rapadas (Guam & Northern Mariana Islands)
• Thomas Moss (District of Idaho)
• Patrick Fitzgerald (Northern District of Illinois)
• Jim Letten (Eastern District of Louisiana)
• David Dugas (Middle District of Louisiana)
• Donald Washington (Western District of Louisiana)
• Rod Rosenstein (District of Maryland)
• Jim Greenlee (Northern District of Mississippi)
• William Mercer (District of Montana)
• George E.B. Holding (Eastern District of North Carolina)
• Anna Mills S. Wagner (Middle District of North Carolina)
• Sheldon Sperling (District of Oklahoma)
• William Walter Wilkins III (District of South Carolina)
• James Dedrick (Eastern District of Tennessee)
• Edward Meachan Yardbrough (Middle District of Tennessee)
• Brett Tolman (District of Utah)
• James McDevit (Eastern District of Washington)
• Kelly Rankin (District of Wyoming)

And here’s a list of Obama nominees who have not been confirmed:

• Christopher Crofts (District of Wyoming)
• Thomas Walker (Eastern District of North Carolina)
• James Santelle (Eastern District of Wisconsin)
• Barbara McQuade (Eastern District of Michigan)
• Mary Elizabeth Phillips (Western District of Missouri)
• Sanford Coats (Western District of Oklahoma)
• Michael Cotter (District of Montana)
• Richard Callahan (Eastern District of Missouri)
• Michael Moore (Middle District of Georgia)

The former Northern District of Mississippi Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted trial lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs — and recently published a book about it — was honored last week for his work on the high-profile case.

Tom Dawson, who retired in January and returned to the office on an usual contract basis until June, was honored alongside AUSA Bob Norman for their work prosecuting the billionaire tobacco litigator and his associates in a major judicial bribery scandal in Mississippi.

The award from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys cited Dawson and Norman for:

their outstanding work on the investigation and prosecution of United States v. Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, et al. Their unparalleled dedication, skill, and judgment in this highly sensitive case with national attention resulted in convictions of all defendants. The team performed flawlessly, exhibiting extraordinary performance under pressure while executing tactical and strategic decisions in the successful prosecution that exposed a pattern of attempts to influence the judiciary. Their work has made a lasting positive impact on the Mississippi courts, attorneys, and our system of justice

Dawson’s co-author of the book, “Kings of Tort: The True Story of Dickie Scruggs, Paul Minor and Two Decades of Political and Legal Manipulation in Mississippi,” is Alan Lange, who’s been a vocal conservative critic of trial lawyers on his popular Mississippi blog, Y’all Politics. Lange has called the Scruggs case the “culmination of decades of dirty, backwater politics.” Read Lange’s blog post about the award here.

Read our previous report on Dawson’s book here.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said the Mississippi Northern District U.S. Attorney job was not part of the discussion he had today with Assistant U.S. Attorney Curtis Ivy, who has been mentioned as a candidate for the position. Ivy met with Thompson on Thursday, while the prosecutor was in Washington for the DOJ’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and Asset Forfeiture Program (OCDETF) national leadership conference.

Bennie Thompson (Gov)

The congressman said in a interview with Main Justice that the meeting was “private” and had “nothing to do with the U.S. Attorney” position. He declined to comment on what the two discussed.

We reported last week that Oxford criminal defense lawyer Christi McCoy, the Thompson-backed candidate for Mississippi Northern District U.S. Attorney, appeared to have run into trouble during the vetting process.

McCoy’s professional relationships with two figures in the Dickie Scruggs case is thought by Mississippi legal figures to be behind the White House’s apparent skittishness. Scruggs, the brother-in-law of former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), is a trial lawyer who became enormously wealthy suing the tobacco companies in the 1990s. He pleaded guilty in connection with two sets of charges alleging he attempted to bribe judges in Mississippi.  McCoy once worked at the law firm of Joey Langston, who pleaded guilty to conspiring with Scruggs to bribe a judge. McCoy also represented former State Auditor Steve Patterson, who pleaded guilty in another Scruggs-related judge bribery case.

Thompson said in the interview today that he continued to support McCoy. Thompson is playing a leading role in Mississippi U.S. Attorney recommendations because the state’s two senators, Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, are Republicans.

We now have two independent sources telling us that Oxford, Miss., criminal defense lawyer Christi McCoy’s candidacy for Northern District of Mississippi U.S. Attorney appears to have run off the rails. We’re now hearing that Assistant U.S. Attorney Curtis Ivy in Oxford is the leading candidate. We’d earlier reported that Circuit Court Judge Thomas Gardner of Tupelo was in the mix.

Admittedly, we don’t have great insight into this one. McCoy and Ivy didn’t return phone calls, and a spokesman for Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who reportedly recommended McCoy to replace Bush-appointed U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee, won’t comment. “We have not made any of our recommendations public in order not to prejudice the White House vetting process,” Thompson’s deputy chief of staff, Karis Gutter, told me Tuesday.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.)

After we posted this item back in May saying McCoy had hit a “snag” in the vetting process, Mississippi legal reporter Patsy Brumfield reported June 16 that Thompson had formally recommended McCoy to the White House.

Later, we learned that snag was related to McCoy’s professional connections to two figures in the famous Dickie Scruggs case. Scruggs is the mega-rich trial lawyer and brother-in-law of former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) who pleaded guilty in connection with two sets of charges alleging he attempted to bribe judges in Mississippi. 

McCoy once worked at the law firm of Joey Langston, who pleaded guilty to conspiring with Scruggs to bribe a judge. McCoy also represented former State Auditor Steve Patterson, who pleaded guilty in another Scruggs-related judge bribery case. I’m not sure why that would necessarily disqualify her – but the White House is very skittish about controversy of any kind in the U.S. Attorney selections. We also heard about something else on McCoy’s application that wasn’t quite in order, but couldn’t confirm the information.

Langston pleaded guilty in 2008 to conspiring to bribe Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter to rule favorably on a Scruggs case. Langston allegedly dangled the prospect of a federal judgeship for DeLaughter – with help from Lott, who as senator was in a position to help push candidates through. Lott later acknowledged he’d called DeLaughter about the judgeship but said he didn’t actually recommend DeLaughter, who wasn’t nominate