Tim Johnson (DOJ)

Assistant U.S. Attorney Angel Moreno will become the interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas after current U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson leaves at the end of this week, The Houston Chronicle reports.

Johnson has led the Houston-based office since the resignation of Don DeGabrielle in November 2008. He had been DeGabrielle’s First Assistant since 2006. Earlier this week, federal judges in the district voted to make Moreno the district’s interim U.S. Attorney.

Last month Johnson said he would join the Houston firm of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell after his resignation became effective on Feb. 13.

President Obama has yet to nominate a permanent U.S. Attorney for the district. Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison have recommended Southern District Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson for the post. Magidson heads the organized crime drug enforcement task force for the Southwest region. Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who chairs the Texas House Democratic delegation, is also making U.S. Attorney recommendations, but has yet to announce his candidate.

Two Sioux Falls police officers were patrolling on a below-freezing South Dakota night in February 2004 when they saw a middle-aged man acting suspiciously at a group of storage sheds. Upon questioning by the officers, a scuffle ensued. Shots were fired.

Brendan Johnson (Photo by Andrew Ramonas/Main Justice)

No one was killed. But the high-profile local incident helped propel the career of a young prosecutor.

Brendan Johnson, then a deputy state’s attorney in the Minnehaha County state’s attorney’s office – and now the U.S. Attorney for South Dakota –  helped successfully prosecute John S. Lewis, who received two life sentences without parole and 145 years in state prison for the attempted murders of officers Michael Iverson and Scott Reitmeier.

Johnson, the son of South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson (D), was not yet 30 years old.

State prosecutors interviewed by Main Justice said the murder case was an important turning point for Johnson, who worked in the state’s attorney’s office from 2003 to 2005. Dave Nelson, the Minnehaha County state’s attorney from 1988 to 2008, said Johnson did a “real nice job” on the case.

“I really do remember working with that case and how impressed I was with him,” Nelson told Main Justice.

In a recent interview in Washington with Main Justice, Johnson cited the case as one of his most challenging prosecutions. But as a state prosecutor, Johnson said he also worked on difficult domestic violence cases, which will continue to be a major focus of the 28-attorney U.S. Attorney’s office that he took over last October.

“It’s very rewarding to be dealing with important issues ranging from national security — which is a priority even in rural states like South Dakota — to Indian country issues, to violence against women and children,” Johnson said.

Long Days and Long Drives

Now, Johnson’s work often takes him across a district that covers 77,000 square miles – almost nine times the size of New Jersey. He frequently travels from his home in Sioux Falls to one of his state’s nine American Indian reservations, or to the U.S. Attorney’s office branches in Pierre, Rapid City and Aberdeen.

Rapid City, the farthest outpost from the South Dakota U.S. Attorney’s main office, is almost five and a half hours away from the Sioux Falls headquarters. Last week, Johnson drove two hours to Oacoma, S.D., for part of a listening conference he arranged between his office and state tribal leaders. But he’s also driven more than five hours to visit the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.

“In order to do that in a state of South Dakota’s size, on days when I’m on the road, I usually leave at 4, 4:30 in the morning, drive to one of the offices or Indian country and get back later in the evening,” Johnson said.

Johnson, 34 years old, said prosecuting cases from the state’s Indian country is a “significant portion” of his office’s work. American Indians make up only about 10 percent of South Dakota’s population, but account for about half of the state’s federal cases, according to Johnson. The U.S. Attorney’s office prosecutes almost all Indian country felonies.

The U.S. Attorney said he and his office’s Assistant U.S. Attorneys regularly meet with tribal leaders across the state to forge stronger ties. As chairman of the American Indian issues subcommittee of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys, Johnson is a leading voice in the Justice Department’s increased efforts to fight crime in Indian country.

“You have to earn the trust of the people you’re working with so that when they have a tip, when they know information about the investigation, they’re comfortable contacting me or somebody else in the office and letting us know what is going on,” Johnson said. “You’re not going to get that information unless you build the relationships first and earn people’s trust.”

Senator’s Son

As an appointee of a Democratic administration, Johnson has tried to build up trust in a state that voted 53 percent for Republican presidential candidate John McCain in 2008, with 45 percent supporting now-President Barack Obama.

A partner at Johnson, Heidepriem & Abdallah in Sioux Falls from 2005 to 2009, Johnson said he reached out to Republican leaders in his state — including former Gov. William Janklow – when he was seeking the U.S. Attorney nomination. Janklow, who also served as the state’s attorney general from 1974 to 1978, said in a recommendation letter that Johnson was “marvelously talented and respected.”

“I know you take a little heat. But if you look at the kid’s resume, he’s accomplished a lot,” said Russ Janklow, William’s son and a former law partner of Johnson’s.

Johnson said he believes South Dakota Republicans and Democrats know his commitment to the law.

“I think one of the reasons why they were comfortable with me is to me, there is a line that prosecutors shouldn’t cross when it comes to politics,” Johnson said. “And as a prosecutor, I think folks would say I always played it straight, wasn’t involved in politics when I was prosecuting cases for the county. I think they felt that I did some good things as a prosecutor.”

To avoid any appearance of impropriety, his father decided to have all applications received for South Dakota U.S. Attorney submitted directly to the White House without preference, according to Johnson.

But a conservative South Dakota political blog said it is “impossible to avoid the appearance of impropriety.”

“Unless we now have adopted the monarchy that our forefathers eschewed so long ago, and endorse the naked building of political dynasties. Because that’s the only way this can be justified,” said the South Dakota War College blog when Johnson was nominated for U.S. Attorney in July 2009.

It isn’t unheard of for U.S. Attorney candidates to have familial or close personal ties to a senator from their state.

In 2001 then-Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) recommended his son, Strom Thurmond Jr., for the South Carolina U.S. Attorney post, which the son held for three years. Last year, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) recommended his live-in girlfriend, Melodee Hanes, to be the Montana U.S. Attorney. But she withdrew from consideration, and Helena attorney Michael Cotter won Senate confirmation last year.

Both the Thurmond and Baucus recommendations were controversial. Johnson’s was not.

“My father and I really don’t have the type of relationship where that would be an issue,” Johnson said. “I think we both have a pretty clear understanding that he has his job to do, which I respect and is an important job. But it’s separate and distinct from what I’m doing.”

A future in politics?

Michael Card, a political science professor at the University of South Dakota, said a prominent South Dakotan like Johnson could have a future in politics, perhaps running for Congress one day.

Sen. Tim Johnson and family in 2007 (johnson.senate.gov

“Even if he’s not thinking of it, others are thinking of him,” Card said.

Johnson, however, demurs when asked whether he might one day run for public office. “My only focus is serving South Dakota as the U.S. Attorney.”

Johnson said his conversations with his father are generally more personal than political. about his four children, which include two young boys and two older kids adopted from Ethiopia about two and a half years ago.

His wife of seven years, Jana, encouraged the U.S. Attorney to read a book called, “There is No Me Without You,” which was about an Ethiopian orphanage. After reading the book, they decided to contact the author, Melissa Greene, and ask her about adopting older children from the orphanage.

Johnson and his wife adopted a girl first and then, two months later, they decided to adopt a boy.

“Once their English got a little better, we discovered they didn’t get along particularly well and so this idea that they were going to become brother and sister wasn’t something they were particularly excited about,” he said. “But they are incredible kids. They are a wonderful addition to our family.”

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas will resign next month to enter private practice in the Houston area, The Associated Press reported today.

Tim Johnson (DOJ)

Court-appointed U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson will join Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell at its Houston law offices after his resignation becomes effective on Feb. 13, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Legal Trade blog.

Johnson has led the Houston-based U.S. Attorney’s office since the resignation of Don DeGabrielle in November 2008. He had been DeGabrielle’s First Assistant since 2006.

“The past almost four years have been the most rewarding of my life,” Johnson said in a news release. “It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside [the office's staffers].”

President Barack Obama has yet to announce his nominee to lead the Southern District office.

Republican Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison have recommended Southern District Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson for the post. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who chairs the Texas delegation of House Democrats, is also making U.S. Attorney recommendations, but has yet to announce his candidate.

Forbes magazine last week released its list of the top 10 CEOs who “showed enough greed, hubris and chutzpah” to give confessed Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff “a run for his (stolen) money.”

We’ve added some information that Forbes left off its list — the top federal prosecutors who get to go after these alleged financial fraudsters, even though some of the investigations began before their time.

Preet Bharara in his first major news conference Nov. 5. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney announced the arrests of 14 people in an alleged insider trading ring around hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam. (Getty Images)

Winning a conviction in a high-profile financial case adds a notch to a U.S. Attorney’s belt. A prosecutor might even get to step out at a news conference or two, as Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara did on Nov. 5 when announcing insider trading arrests related to the Galleon hedge fund run by billionaire Raj Rajaratnam.

To be sure, not everyone on the Forbes list is accused of an actual crime. With that caveat, we present Forbes’s “Biggest CEO Outrages of 2009″ list:

1. Lloyd Blankfein. The chairman and CEO made $73 million in 2007 and $25 million in 2008, as the economy entered a deep recession. Although his salary is not a legal offense, Forbes deemed it practically criminal.

2. John Thain. The former CEO of Merrill Lynch approved $3.62 billion in bonuses for his executives last December as the company was being taken over by Bank of America and reporting a fourth-quarter loss of $15.3 billion.

3. Raj Rajaratnam. The founder of the hedge fund Galleon Group was charged with insider trading which allegedly helped him earn more than $33 million in illicit profits. He is being prosecuted in Manhattan by Bharara’s office.

4. Byrraju Ramalinga Raju. The founder of the Indian outsourcing company Satyam Computer Services in January confessed to overstating the company’s profits and fabricating its cash balance of more than $1 billion. He hasn’t been charged.

5. Thomas Petters. The former CEO and chairman of Petters Group Worldwide was charged with orchestrating a $3.5 billion pyramid scheme fraud. He is being prosecuted by the office of Minnesota U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones.

6. Edward M. Liddy. The former CEO of American International Group (AIG) faced criticism this year for high salaries and bonuses in addition to expensive retreats the company funded after receiving a considerable sum as part of the bank bailout of 2008.

7. Danny Pang. The founder of Private Equity Management Group was accused of running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded his investors of hundreds of millions of dollars. Pangdied of an apparent suicide in September at age 42. Had he lived, he would have been prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles, currently headed by acting U.S. Attorney George S. Cardona.

8. R. Allen Stanford. The Texas financier allegedly sold $7 billion worth of certificates of deposit through his Stanford International Bank and misappropriated most of the money. He is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, currently headed by interim U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson. UPDATE: Stanford also is being prosecuted by the fraud section of DOJ’s criminal division.

9. David Rubin. The head of CDR Financial Products was indicted in October on charges of conspiracy and fraud related to rigging auctions to help determine which banks would assist governments in raising money. He will be prosecuted by Bharara’s office in Manhattan.

10. Robert Moran. The CEO of Moran Yacht & Ship pleaded guilty to tax fraud to avoid indictment. He also promised to pay back taxes and penalties and cooperate with the Internal Revenue Service. He was prosecuted by the office of  R. Alexander Acosta, then-U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

The Senate confirmed the top federal prosecutors for Alaska and South Dakota tonight by unanimous consent.

They are:

Brendan Johnson (from South Dakota Watch blog via Facebook)

-Brendan Johnson (South Dakota): The Sioux Falls lawyer and son of Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) will succeed Marty Jackley, who was sworn in as South Dakota attorney general last month is seeking a full term in that post. Johnson was nominated July 14. Read more about the Johnson here.

-Karen Loeffler (Alaska): The Alaska interim U.S. Attorney took over the post from Nelson Cohen March 1. She was nominated July 14. Read more about Loeffler here.

The Senate has now confirmed 18 U.S. Attorneys, including all nominees reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. There are another 12 nominees waiting for votes in committee. There are 93 U.S. Attorney positions around the country.

The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed the U.S. Attorney nominees for South Dakota and Alaska today by unanimous consent.

They are:

Brendan Johnson (from South Dakota Watch blog via Facebook)

-Brendan Johnson (South Dakota): The Sioux Falls lawyer and son of Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) was nominated July 14. He would succeed Marty Jackley, who was sworn in as South Dakota attorney general last month. Read more about the nominee here.

-Karen Loeffler (Alaska): The Alaska interim U.S. Attorney was nominated July 14. She took over the post from Nelson Cohen March 1. Read more about Loeffler here.

Sen. Johnson reportedly said in July he was staying out of the South Dakota U.S. Attorney nomination process. But the senator and his aides engaged in some surreptitious discussions with Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, to find out why his son’s nomination was not moving through the Senate, Politico reported today.

“The senator has a responsibility to the people of South Dakota to see that these posts are filled and did check on the status of the nominee, as he has with other pending presidential nominations,” Sen. Johnson spokesperson Julianne Fisher told Politico. “Of course, Sen. Johnson is proud of Brendan, but first and foremost, he wants the position filled, so we don’t have cases lingering back home.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee has  now  approved a total of 18 U.S. Attorney nominees. The Senate has confirmed 15 of those nominees. The panel has yet to vote on 12  nominees.

Brendan Johnson (from South Dakota Watch blog via Facebook)

As the Senate prepares to consider the nomination of Brendan Johnson for U.S. Attorney for South Dakota, the son of Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) is pulling double duty, The Sioux Journal reported. The younger Johnson continues to practice in his private law firm in Sioux Falls while also bulking up for his expected new job. He’s been traveling across the state meeting with “different constituency groups and learning about the state,” Johnson told the newspaper.

Johnson’s nomination is pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee. “There is no timeline yet to get out of committee and onto the Senate floor,” he told the newspaper.

Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.)

And the nominee can’t turn to his father for help. The senator has said he won’t’ intervene in any manner in his son’s confirmation process, The Sioux Journal reported.

If confirmed, much of  Johnson’s job will focus on tribal justice, the newspaper reported. The senior Johnson sits on the Committee on Indian Affairs.

Brendan Johnson (from South Dakota Watch blog via Facebook)

Martin Jackley

South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds has named U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota Martin Jackley as the state’s next attorney general, The Associated Press reported today. Jackley, who has been the district’s U.S. Attorney since 2006, will be sworn in at noon on Sept. 4, when current state attorney general Larry Long is sworn in as a circuit judge.

President Obama on July 14 nominated Brendan Johnson, a former partner at Johnson, Heidepriem, Abdallah and Johnson, LLP in Sioux Falls and the son of Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), to be the next U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota. Read the Sioux Falls Argus Leader article here.

Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) said he did not make recommendations to the White House for U.S. Attorney – and one can assume that’s because he knew all along his son,  34-year-old Brendan Johnson, was up for the state’s top prosecuting job. Read The Associated Press story here.