President Barack Obama has renominated two of his U.S. Attorney picks whom the Senate returned to him last year.
The nominees are S. Amanda Marshall of Oregon and Thomas Gray Walker of the Eastern District of North Carolina. The Senate sent their nominations back to the president in December when the body failed to vote on the nominees before it adjourned, and Obama resubmitted their names Wednesday.
Here are more details on the nominees:
- Obama first tapped Marshall for Oregon U.S. Attorney on Nov. 17. But the Senate Judiciary Committee never acted on her nomination.
S. Amanda Marshall (facebook)
She is the top lawyer in the Child Advocacy Section of the Oregon Department of Justice. Marshall would replace Interim U.S. Attorney Dwight C. Holton. President George W. Bush’s U.S. Attorney Karin Immergut resigned in July 2009 and later became a state judge.
Read more about Marshall here.
- Obama first nominated Walker on Nov. 30, 2009, to be the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. But the Senate Judiciary Committee never acted on his nomination.
Thomas G. Walker (Courtesy Alston + Bird)
He is a partner at the law firm of Alston & Bird, LLP in Charlotte, N.C. Walker would replace U.S. Attorney George E.B. Holding, whom Bush appointed in 2006.
Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) held up Walker’s nomination over concerns about his connections to former Gov. Mike Easley (D) and former Sen. John Edwards (D).
The U.S. Attorney’s office investigated Easley for allegedly filing a false campaign financial disclosure. The office terminated its investigation last month after he reached a plea deal.
Edwards is reportedly under investigation by the office for allegedly paying his mistress with campaign money.
Burr said he planned to lift his hold on Walker upon completion of both investigations. Read more about Walker here.
The nominations of Marshall and Walker, along with that of Felicia Adams for Northern District of Mississippi U.S. Attorney, are Obama’s first U.S. Attorney nominations for the year. The Senate has confirmed 76 of his U.S. Attorneys thus far. There are 93 U.S. Attorney posts across the nation.
