Stephanie A. Finley (Grambling State University, Southern University Law Center) is nominated to be U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana. She would replace Donald W. Washington, who was the district’s U.S. Attorney from 2001 to Jan. 18, 2010, when he returned to private practice. The district’s current acting U.S. Attorney is William J. Flanagan.

Her vitals:

• Born in Pineville, La., in 1966.
• Received a certificate of completion from Professional Military Education’s Squadron Officers School in 1998.
• Received a certificate of completion from Air Command and Staff College in 2007.
• Currently enrolled in Air War College.
• Has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Louisiana since October 1995. Has served as senior litigation counsel since 2007 and served as Acting Deputy Criminal Chief from November 2008 to July 2009.
• Has been an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate in the U.S. Air Force Reserves since October 1995.
• Was an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate on active duty with the U.S. Air Force from October 1991 to September 1995.
• Was an adjunct professor at St. Leo Community College from 1993 to 1995.
• Clerked for Brooke, Morial, Cassibry, Fraiche and Pizza during the summer of 1990, the Louisiana Department of Labor from 1989-1991 and the Rapides Parish Sheriff Department during the summer of 1988.
• Was a cashier at Super One Food Stores in Baton Rouge, La., from May 1989 to July 1989.
• Holds the rank of Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and Captain in the U.S. Air Force.
• Has tried approximately 50 cases to verdict, acting as sole counsel in all but two. Also has tried matters before administrative discharge boards of the U.S. Air Force.

Click here for her full Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire.

UPDATE: On her Senate Judiciary financial disclosure she reports assets of $987,600 mostly from real estate. She reports owning her personal residence and seven rental properties valued at a total $595,000. Finley also reports liabilities of $350,100 for a net worth of $637,500.

On her Office of Government Ethics financial disclosure Finley reports that she has one rental property in Alexandria, La., one in Pineville, La., and five rental properties in Marksville, La.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) will no longer hold up federal nominations in his state after receiving assurance that the job of the George W. Bush-holdover U.S. Attorney in New Orleans is safe, The Times-Picayune reported today.

David Vitter (Gov)

The Republican senator now will return his “blue slip” on Western District of Louisiana U.S. Attorney nominee Stephanie Finley and other federal nominees, which he had been withholding until he received official word on the status of U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.

The Senate Judiciary Committee traditionally does not consider a nomination until it receives a “blue slip” from the nominee’s home state senator.

Vitter had asked the administration to keep Letten, who has led the Eastern District of Louisiana U.S. Attorney’s Office since 2001. Today, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Letten would serve on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, which serves as the voice of U.S. Attorneys throughout the nation, sending a strong signal that his job was safe.

“This prestigious appointment makes it crystal clear that Jim isn’t going anywhere except on regular trips to Washington to personally advise the attorney general,” Vitter told the newspaper. “The attorney general and I superficially discussed this in our meeting last Thursday and I’m really excited to get it done.”

Letten’s office is handling the case against four men who allegedly tried to interfere with phones at Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu’s New Orleans office. One of the men, Robert Flanagan, is the son of Western District of Louisiana acting U.S. Attorney William Flanagan. James O’Keefe, who gained notoriety for secret videos of the community organizing group ACORN, was one of Flanagan’s accomplices.

Andrew Breitbart, the founder of BigGovernment.com, which employs O’Keefe, said today on Fox News that Letten leaked information on the incident in a “concerted effort” to put O’Keefe in a bad light. Letten’s office denied the allegation.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) appears close to lifting his holds on federal nominees for Louisiana posts, after he learned that the Justice Department will soon clear up his concerns about the future of New Orleans U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, The Times-Picayune reported yesterday.

David Vitter (Gov)

The Republican senator and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) have urged President Barack Obama to retain Letten, who has served as Eastern District of Louisiana U.S. Attorney since 2001. Landrieu said she received assurances from the White House that Letten’s job was safe. But Vitter didn’t and he is holding up DOJ and judicial nominees in Louisiana until he receives official word from the Obama administration that it isn’t seeking a replacement for the Bush holdover.

Jim Letten (DOJ)

Vitter told the New Orleans newspaper he had a half-hour meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday about Letten that “went very well.” He said once he receives official word on Letten’s status he will return the “blue slips,” which home state senators must sign in order for the Senate Judiciary Committee to consider nominees.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley, who was tapped last week for the Western District of Louisiana U.S. Attorney post, is among the Louisiana nominees for judiciary and Justice Department posts. She would replace acting U.S. Attorney William Flanagan, whose son, Robert, allegedly tried to interfere with phones at Landrieu’s New Orleans office. Letten’s office is handling the prosecution of Robert Flanagan and three others.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) will delay Senate action on the nominee who would replace the acting U.S. Attorney whose son allegedly tried to interfere with phones at Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu’s New Orleans office, The Associated Press reported today.

David Vitter (Getty Images)

Vitter’s office said Wednesday that he will block Senate action on Stephanie Finley and President Obama’s other nominees for federal justice system posts in Louisiana until he hears from the White House whether Obama will let Eastern District of Louisiana U.S. Attorney Jim Letten keep his job.

Finley was nominated last week to be U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana. She would replace acting U.S. Attorney William Flanagan. Vitter is also holding up other federal nominees in Louisiana over Letten. Letten was appointed by President George W. Bush, and has held the Eastern District post since April 2001. Both Vitter and Landrieu have urged Obama to retain Letten.

Flanagan, a career prosecutor, became the top federal prosecutor in the Shreveport, La., office after Donald Washington resigned earlier this month. Robert Flanagan, the prosecutor’s son, along with conservative activists James O’Keefe, Joseph Basel and Stan Dai were charged this week with entering federal property under false pretenses for the purposes of committing a felony. O’Keefe made national headlines last year when he posed as a pimp and allegedly received instructions on how to obtain housing aid for a purported brothel from staffers for activist group ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now).

The son of the acting U.S. Attorney and Basel told a staffer at Landrieu’s office that they were with the telephone company to repair the phone system, according to an FBI affidavit. O’Keefe was already inside the office’s reception area and was holding a phone to record Flanagan and Basel talking to Landrieu staffers, the FBI said. Dai helped plan the operation, according to the FBI.

President Barack Obama tapped five lawyers to lead U.S. Attorney’s offices in Louisiana, West Virginia, Kentucky and New York, the White House announced today.

They are:

-Stephanie Finley (Western District of Louisiana): She has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana since 1995. Finley would succeed Donald Washington, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney this week to enter private practice.

-R. Booth Goodwin (Southern District of West Virginia): He has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia since 2001. Goodwin would replace U.S. Attorney Charles T. Miller.

David Hale (Reed Weitkamp Schell & Vice)

-David Hale (Western District of Kentucky): He has been an attorney at Reed Weitkamp Schell & Vice since 1999 Hale previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. Hale would succeed David Huber, who resigned as U.S. Attorney in January 2o09. Read more about the nominee here.

-Kerry Harvey (Eastern District of Kentucky): He has been the general counsel and acting inspector general of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services since 2008. He previously was a partner at Owen, Harvey, and Carter.

Loretta Lynch (Hogan & Hartson)

-Loretta Lynch (Eastern District of New York): She is a former U.S. Attorney for Eastern District of New York. She served from 1999 to 2001, after nine years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. She is currently a partner at Hogan & Hartson. Read more about her here.

The former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana will join a national law firm at its Lafayette, La., office.

Donald Washington, who served as U.S. Attorney from 2001 until yesterday, will focus on white collar litigation and federal and state criminal investigations at Jones Walker, according to a news release from the law firm.

Donald Washington (DOJ)

“Don’s extensive background as in-house corporate counsel, conducting corporate investigations, and in litigation will build upon our strong litigation practice, and he is a particularly good complement to our existing practice in the area of health care and energy litigation, white collar crime, and government investigations,” William H. Hines, Jones Walker’s managing partner, said in the news release. “The depth of his knowledge and experience navigating complex legal issues and federal investigations will be a huge asset.”

Washington said in the news release that he joined the law firm because it “presents exciting, geographically diverse representation opportunities.”

“It provides an excellent platform for someone with my background to continue serving clients seeking a just resolution to their legal issues, while practicing with some of the most prominent and widely recognized lawyers in the nation,” he said.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) last summer recommended that President Barack Obama nominate either John Belton or Stephanie Finley for the Western District U.S. Attorney post.

The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana told Main Justice today that he will resign this month to return to private practice.

Donald Washington (DOJ)

U.S Attorney Donald Washington, who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001, will step down on Jan. 18. He said “nothing” compelled him to leave now, but this month was a “suitable time to leave.”

“As every U.S. Attorney knows, there comes a time and a day that you have to make the decision to leave,” Washington told Main Justice. He declined to say where he would be working once he left the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) recommended last summer that President Barack Obama nominate John Belton and Stephanie Finley for the Western District U.S. Attorney post. Washington said he didn’t have any information on who his successor would be.

The Associated Press first reported his intention to resign.

Mary Landrieu

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) recommended that President Obama nominate John Belton, a veteran prosecutor in the 3rd Judicial District of Lincoln and Union parishes, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley, The News Star reported on Friday.

A bit more about Belton:

Belton is a career prosecutor who has served as a courtroom advocate for 16 years. Since 1992, Belton has worked as assistant district attorney based in Ruston. In this position, he has a 95 percent conviction rate in prosecuting felony, misdemeanor, juvenile and child support cases. He is also a practicing attorney at Belton & Belton and a legal instructor. Belton’s experience includes litigation in both criminal and civil courts. As a civil attorney, Belton was instrumental in negotiating the largest settlement against the Kansas City Southern Railroad Co.

And Finley, who is also a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserves:

For the last 17 years, Finley has practiced law in the federal arena as a judge advocate and an assistant U.S. attorney. Finley has served as an attorney in the Shreveport, Monroe, Alexandria, Lafayette and Lake Charles Division of the Western District for 13 years. She currently is the acting deputy chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lafayette.

For more on their bios, click here for a news release from Landrieu’s office. Belton or Finley would replace current U.S. Attorney Donald Washington.

Landrieu has recommended that Obama nominate former Rep. Don Cazayoux (D-La.) as the next U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, and she has said she wants Jim Letten to stay on as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana.