A candidate for Utah U.S. Attorney said Thursday that the White House was no longer considering him to be the state’s top federal prosecutor.
David Schwendiman (Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
David Schwendiman, who worked at the Salt Lake City-based U.S. Attorney’s office from 1987 to 2006, said in a statement that he is “grateful for the consideration” and is “fully committed to serving my country, my state, and the Department of Justice.” The prosecutor said he learned of the White House’s decision on Wednesday.
“I am honored to have been considered, but I understood from the outset that the choice of nominee is the prerogative of the President, and that the White House would make the final decision,” Schwendiman said.
Utah acting U.S. Attorney Carlie Christensen said the prosecutor will serve as the office’s senior litigation counsel — a position Schwendiman held before he became a war crimes prosecutor in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2006.
Christensen said in the statement she has the “greatest confidence in him and his abilities and character.”
“We are fortunate to have David working with us again to advance the mission of the office,” Christensen said. “He is an experienced and skilled prosecutor who will significantly contribute to the work of the department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office as he has done in the past.”
The Salt Lake Tribune first reported the story.
News reports surfaced in June 2009 that Rep. Jim Matheson, Utah’s only Democratic member of Congress, recommended Schwendiman to be U.S. Attorney. Schwendiman served as First Assistant U.S. Attorney under former U.S. Attorney Scott Matheson, the congressman’s older brother.
