Former U.S. Attorney Matt Mead (R) was sworn in on Monday as Wyoming’s 32nd governor.

Mead served as the state’s U.S. Attorney from from 2001 to 2007. He already has named several of his former colleagues from the office to his administration.

At the swearing-in ceremony and at the inaugural ball that night were several former U.S. Attorneys, according to former Colorado U.S. Attorney Troy Eid, who attend the events.

Among those in attendance were Bill Mercer of Montana, Johnny Sutton of the Western District of Texas, John Ratcliffe of the Eastern District of Texas, Tom Moss of Idaho and Susan Brooks of the Southern District of Indiana, according to Eid.

This story has been corrected from an earlier version.

Bill Mercer (gov)

Outgoing Montana U.S. Attorney Bill Mercer says his time in public service has led him to one conclusion — never again, The Great Falls Tribune reported yesterday. He told the newspaper, “After 21 years of public service, it’s safe to say I won’t be in public service again, but that’s about as much as I want to say about it for now.”

Mercer told The Tribune he’s proud of improvements he made in communication and cooperation between government on the federal and local levels. However, he credited then-Attorney General John Ashcroft with initiating the push. He also cited progress in Indian Country crime issues as a success of his tenure.

As for his successor, Mike Cotter, who was sworn in Dec. 30, Mercer told the newspaper that the incoming prosecutor’s focus likely will be on prescription drug abuse. “The thorniest problem of this decade for Montana is going to be prescription drug abuse,” Mercer said, adding, “It’s shocking the tremendous number of people reporting prescription drug overdose deaths.”

Cotter said his first week as the state’s top federal prosecutor has been a whirlwind of briefings and meetings, adding that the job has a “pretty steep learning curve,” The Independent Record of Helena, Mont., reports. He joked the learning curve is similar to “drinking water through a fire hose,” the newspaper reported.

Among the issues he cited as priorities are economic crimes, crime in Indian Country and crime against children, The Independent Record reported. Cotter said he will work on goals set forth by the Barack Obama administration in addition to continuing the efforts of Mercer, The Associated Press reports.

In a wrap-up session just before leaving town until next year,  the Senate today confirmed seven U.S. Attorneys by voice vote.

They are:

Richard Callahan (Gov)

- Richard Callahan (Eastern District of Missouri): The state circuit judge in Missouri succeeds Catherine L. Hanaway, who resigned earlier this year. He was nominated for the post in October. Read more about Callahan here.

- Sanford Coats (Western District of Oklahoma): Coats, who been an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the western Oklahoma office, succeeds John Richter, who stepped down in August. Coats was nominated on Sept. 30. Read more about Coats here.

- Michael Cotter (Montana): The Helena, Mont., lawyer replaces Bill Mercer, who is a holdover from the George W. Bush administration. Obama nominated Cotter for U.S. Attorney on Sept. 25, after the live-in girlfriend of Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) withdrew from consideration. As the state’s senior Democratic senator, Baucus had recommended three candidates to the White House. Read more about Cotter here.

- Christopher Crofts (Wyoming): The counsel to Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) replaces Bush holdover Kelly Rankin. He was nominated on Nov. 30. Read more about Crofts here.

Barbara L. McQuade (ICLE)

- Barbara McQuade (Eastern District of Michigan): The Eastern District of Michigan Assistant U.S. Attorney succeeds Stephen J. Murphy, who resigned in 2008. She was nominated on Nov. 30. Read more about her here.

James L. Santelle (Wisconsin Law Journal)

- James Santelle (Eastern District of Wisconsin): Santelle, who has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District office, succeeds Steven Biskupic, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney in January. Obama tapped Santelle for the post on Nov. 30. Read more about Santelle here.

- Mary Elizabeth Phillips (Western District of Missouri): Phillips, who was nominated Sept. 30, succeeds John Wood, who resigned in February. Read more about Phillips here.

The Senate has now confirmed 31 U.S. Attorneys. The Senate Judiciary Committee has yet to schedule votes votes for another 10 would-be U.S. Attorneys, including the nominees Obama tapped today and last Tuesday. One of Obama’s nominees, Stephanie Villafuerte of Colorado, withdrew from consideration two weeks ago.

The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed four U.S. Attorney nominees this morning by voice vote.

They are:

Barbara L. McQuade (ICLE)

-Barbara McQuade (Eastern District of Michigan): The Eastern District of Michigan Assistant U.S. Attorney would succeed Stephen J. Murphy, who resigned in 2008. She was nominated on Nov. 30. Read more about her here.

-Christopher Crofts (Wyoming): The counsel to Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) would replace Bush holdover Kelly Rankin. He was nominated on Nov. 30. Read more about Crofts here.

James L. Santelle (Wisconsin Law Journal)

-James Santelle (Eastern District of Wisconsin): The Eastern District Assistant U.S. Attorney would succeed Steven Biskupic, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney in January. President Barack Obama tapped Santelle for the post on Nov. 30. Read more about Santelle here.

-Michael Cotter (Montana): The Helena, Mont., lawyer would replace Bill Mercer, who is a holdover from the George W. Bush administration. Obama nominated Cotter for U.S. Attorney on Sept. 25, after the live-in girlfriend of Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) withdrew from consideration. As the state’s senior Democratic senator, Baucus had recommended candidates to the White House. Read more about the nominee here.

The panel has now approved 31 U.S. Attorney nominees, including the 24 U.S. Attorneys who have won Senate confirmation thus far. The committee has yet to schedule votes for another two would-be U.S. Attorneys.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to vote Thursday on two more U.S. Attorney nominees, according to the panel’s Web site.

James L. Santelle (Wisconsin Law Journal)

They are:

-James Santelle (Eastern District of Wisconsin): The Eastern District Assistant U.S. Attorney would succeed Steven Biskupic, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney in January. President Barack Obama tapped Santelle for the post on Nov. 30. Read more about Santelle here.

-Michael Cotter (Montana): The Helena, Mont., lawyer would replace Bill Mercer, who is a holdover from the George W. Bush administration. Obama nominated Cotter for U.S. Attorney on Sept. 25, after the live-in girlfriend of Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) withdrew from consideration. As the state’s senior Democratic senator, Baucus had recommended candidates to the White House. Read  more about the nominee here.

The committee will also consider U.S. Attorney nominees Barbara McQuade for the Eastern District of Michigan and Christopher Crofts for Wyoming at its Thursday meeting.

The panel has approved 27 U.S. Attorney nominees, including the 24 U.S. Attorneys who have won Senate confirmation thus far. The committee has yet to schedule votes for another three would-be U.S. Attorneys.

Michael W. Cotter (University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Law School) is nominated to replace William W. Mercer as the U.S. Attorney for Montana.

His vitals:

• Born in Seattle in 1949.
• Has had a private practice for the majority of his career. From 1978 to 1983 in South Bend, Ind. From 2000 to 2007 in Great Falls, Mont. Since 2007 in Helena, Mont.
• Was a partner at Cotter & Cotter in Great Falls, Mont., from 1985 to 2000.
• Worked in the Law Offices of John C. Hoyt in Great Falls, Mont..  from 1984 to 1985 and 1977 to 1978 as an associate.
• Was a law clerk for Robert D. Lee and Barnes & Thornburg in South Bend, Ind.
• Worked as a bartender at Corby’s Irish Pub in South Bend, where scenes from the 1993 Notre Dame football movie “Rudy” were filmed.
• Earned a Masters of Business Administration from University of Utah.
• Was a 1st Lieutenant in the Army from 1972 to 1974, when he was honorably discharged.
• Has tried between 150 to 175 cases, 80 percent of which he was sole or chief counsel. Of those cases, 35 percent were jury trials and 65 percent were non-jury trials.

Click here for his full questionnaire.

UPDATE: On his Office of Government Ethics financial disclosure Cotter reports earning a salary of $70,170. On his Senate Judiciary financial disclosure he reports assets valued at $2,638,000 and liabilities of $493,000 for a net worth of $2,145,000.

More than eight months after President Barack Obama took office, one third of the country’s U.S. Attorney offices are still run by prosecutors appointed during the administration of Republican George W. Bush, according to a review of data by Main Justice.

At this point in October 2001 — after Bush succeeded Democrat Bill Clinton - less than 9 percent of the slots were occupied by Clinton holdovers.

The data from the Department of Justice and the U.S. Senate show that Obama is moving relatively slowly to replace Bush-era prosecutors.

Of the 93 U.S. Attorney posts nationwide, 23 are occupied by Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorneys appointed by Bush. Another eight U.S. Attorneys who were appointed during the Bush administration, but not confirmed by the Senate, are also serving. That makes a total of 31 Bush-era appointees who are still running the top federal prosecuting offices around the country.

(Click here to see our chart of the eight Clinton holdovers who were still serving in October 2001. Click here for our interactive chart tracking Obama’s progress in filling the 93 U.S. Attorney offices.)

The issue of Bush-holdovers has attracted notice because of the intense partisan battles over Justice Department personnel and actions that took place during the Bush administration. And some of the Bush-era U.S. Attorneys still serving today were at the center of those controversies.

But the bad economy and law firm recession also may explain why so many U.S. Attorneys are lingering in office. Indeed, some are waiting until the last minute to exit.

This week, three Senate-confirmed Bush-era U.S. Attorneys - Gregory Brower in Nevada, Edward Kubo Jr. in Hawaii and Joe Stecher in Nebraska – left office as their Obama-appointed successors were sworn in. Stecher indicated in an interview with Main Justice he hadn’t lined up a new job yet.

Other of the Bush-era U.S. Attorneys who are still in office were among those accused of targeting Democrats for prosecution, or who were involved in the 2006 U.S. Attorney firings that led to congressional investigations, an appointment of a special prosecutor, and the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. While U.S. Attorneys are political appointees, they are expected to carry out the law enforcement duties of their office without regard to partisan politics.

The uproar over the apparent politicization of the Justice Department helped energize Obama’s liberal base in the 2008 presidential election.

But as president, Obama has moved cautiously to replace U.S. Attorneys. While Bill Clinton asked for the resignation of all U.S. Attorneys after taking office in 1993 — a move that was criticized at the time as disruptive — the Obama White House has consulted closely with Republican senators. At times, the White House has delayed moving forward when GOP senators objected to an intended nominee. At the same time, some Democratic senators and House members have been slow in forwarding their recommendations for U.S. Attorneys to the White House, c0ntributing to delays, say people familiar with the process.

“The U.S. Attorney vetting and nomination process is continuing at a steady pace,” DOJ spokesperson Melissa Schwartz wrote in an e-mail to Main Justice.

Meanwhile, several prosecutors most closely identified with the Bush-era controversies remain in office. They include:

• Mary Beth Buchanan, Western Pennsylvania. Buchanan held multiple Bush Justice Department leadership positions in Washington, D.C., while simultaneously serving as the U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh since 2001. She headed the Executive Office of United States Attorneys from 2004 to 2005, drawing her into the House Judiciary Committee investigation of the U.S. Attorney firings. A member of the conservative Federalist Society, she is overseeing a sensitive corruption investigation into a group of lobbyists who were close to Democratic Rep. John Murtha. Buchanan told local reporters last November she would not voluntarily step down, according to The Washington Post. In July, former Attorney General Richard Thornburgh asked Attorney General Eric Holder to discipline Buchanan for “vindictively” suggesting at a news conference that a high-profile Democratic defendant was guilty. Her office dismissed all charges against former Allegheny County medical examiner Cyril Wecht after a federal judge threw out evidence that was ruled improperly obtained. Wecht was indicted on fraud and theft charges in January 2006.

• Leura Canary, Middle District of Alabama. Canary, who has been U.S. Attorney since 2001, successfully prosecuted former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D) on corruption charges, in a case that Democrats have alleged was political. Canary is married to GOP activist Bill Canary, who reportedly had close ties to Rove. Canary recused herself from the Siegelman case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin. But Siegelman and congressional Democrats have said evidence provided by a whistle-blower in the office shows that Canary stayed involved in the case after her recusal. A Montgomery criminal defense lawyer, Joe Van Heest, has been vetted to replace Canary. But his nomination has been held up by objections from Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who supports a daughter of a political supporter and friend for the job.

• Bill Mercer, District of Montana Mercer, who has been U.S. Attorney since 2001, came under fire for simultaneously serving as Montana U.S. Attorney and as the Justice Department’s Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General and Associate Attorney General in Washington for almost two years. Emails obtained by congressional investigators showed he was involved in the internal Bush administration deliberations that led up to the 2006 U.S. Attorney firings. Obama last week nominated Helena lawyer Michael Cotter to replace Mercer.

Also, George E. B. Holding in North Carolina’s Eastern District remains in office while he oversees cases against two prominent Democrats, former presidential candidate John Edwards and former Gov. Mike Easley. The potential political repercussions of removing the Republican prosecutor from the Edwards and Easley probes has complicated moves to name a successor. Read our previous report on Holding here.

In New Mexico, Gregory J. Fouratt, who was named interim U.S. Attorney a year after the Bush DOJ fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, remains at the helm. Fouratt was not confirmed by the Senate, but he has been criticized for his handling of a pay-to-play political corruption probe of Gov. Bill Richardson (D).

In an August letter to defense attorneys announcing the government would not bring charges in the investigation, Fouratt wrote that “pressure from the governor’s office resulted in the corruption of the procurement process” and said that his letter “should not be interpreted as exoneration of any party’s conduct in that matter.”  Joseph diGenova, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia during the Reagan administration, told The Associated Press the letter was “stupid” and the New Mexico prosecutor “should be fired” for writing it.

In Alabama’s Northern District, U.S. Attorney Alice Martin stepped down in June after the second of two “courtesy calls” she said she received from officials at Justice Department headquarters in Washington informing her of the progress in nominating and confirming her successor, Joyce Vance. Martin’s critics have accused her of targeting Democrats during her almost eight year tenure  - an allegation she has denied.

Martin had moved Vance, a veteran prosecutor in the Birmingham office who colleagues said loved the court room, into a less high-profile job as chief of the district’s appellate section. Observers of the office have told us Martin’s move appeared intended to sideline Vance. Instead, it put Vance in regular contact with appellate judges, who later became influential voices of support when Vance was being vetted by the White House for the job.

Vance took over an interim U.S. Attorney on June 19 and was confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 7. Attorney General Eric Holder attended her swearing-in ceremony. Martin resigned without another job lined up and said she looked forward to spending time with her children.

In addition to Mercer in Montana, other Bush U.S. Attorneys could be out of their jobs soon. Obama has nominated Des Moines lawyer Nick Klinefeldt to succeed Matthew G. Whitaker in the Southern District of Iowa and Stephanie Rose to succeed Matt Dummermuth in the Northern District of Iowa.

Dummermuth took office in January 2007, at the age of 33, under a controversial provision of the Patriot Act — since rescinded — that effectively allowed the White House to install a U.S. Attorney without going through the Senate confirmation process. Bush sent Dummermuth’s formal nomination to the Senate in December 2007, but he didn’t answer questions to the satisfaction of Judiciary Committee Democrats and failed to win confirmation.

It appears likely that at least two Bush appointees will continue to serve in the Obama administration. Northern District of Illinois U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald — who is prosecuting former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) for corruption — is backed by Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin (D). In Louisiana, Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu said she wants Jim Letten in the Eastern District to stay. Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein also has the support of Democrats in his state.

Here is a list of the Senate-confirmed Bush U.S. Attorneys who are still in office:

-Leura Canary (Middle District of Alabama)

-Joseph Russonello (Northern District of California)

-A. Brian Albritton (Middle District of Florida)

-Leonardo Rapados (Guam and Northern Mariana Islands)

-Thomas Moss (Idaho)

-Patrick Fitzgerald (Northern District of Illinois)

-Matthew G. Whitaker (Southern District of Iowa)

-Jim Letten (Eastern District of Louisiana)

-David Dugas (Middle District of Louisiana)

-Donald Washington (Western District of Louisiana)

-Rod Rosenstein (Maryland)

-Jim Greenlee (Northern District of Mississippi)

-Bill Mercer (Montana)

-George E.B. Holding (Eastern District of North Carolina)

-Anna Mills Wagoner (Middle District of North Carolina)

-Sheldon Sperling (Eastern District of Oklahoma)

-Mary Beth Buchanan (Western District of Pennsylvania)

-William Walters Wilkins III (South Carolina)

-James Dedrick (Eastern District of Tennessee)

-Edward Yarbrough (Middle District of Tennessee)

-James McDevitt (Eastern District of Washington)

-Sharon Potter (Northern District of West Virginia)

-Kelly Rankin (Wyoming)

And here is a list of non-Senate confirmed attorneys appointed during the Bush administration who are still in office:

-Thomas F. Kirwin (Northern District of Florida)

-Matt Dummermuth (Northern District of Iowa)

-Paula Silsby (Maine)

-Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Valez (Puerto Rico)

-Charles T. Miller (Southern District of West Virginia)

-A. Courtney Cox (Southern District of Illinois)

-James Zerhusen (Eastern District of Kentucky)

-Gregory Fouratt (New Mexico)

Mary Jacoby contributed to this report. 

Sen. Max Baucus carries the Montana flag in the Inaugural Parade in Washington D.C., as newly sworn in President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama look on. (senate.gov)

Still ensconced in the U.S. Attorney job in Montana is one of the most controversial of the “loyal Bushies,” Bill Mercer. For a time in the Bush administration, Mercer wore two hats: as U.S. Attorney and Acting Associate Attorney General in Washington, where he was involved in carrying out the politicized firings of U.S. Attorneys in 2006.  Mercer is one of those Bush holdovers whose continued presence grates on the Left.

But the Obama administration is apparently moving cautiously to select his replacement, reports the Missoulian newspaper.

Back in February, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) sent President Obama a list of three candidates for U.S. Attorney.  The names of the three candidates were not released due to “privacy concerns,” but we determined that two of the candidates were Mike Wheat and Mike Cotter.  Wheat is an attorney with Cok, Wheat & Kinzler in Bozeman, Mont. He previously served in the state Senate, and lost a campaign for state attorney general.  Cotter, on the other hand, is a self-employed Helena, Mont. civil attorney.

Mike Wheat

Now, more than four months later, the Missoulian says there have been no new developments.

U.S. Attorney’s Office of Montana spokeswoman Jessica T. Fehr told the paper’s Tristan Scott that “We have heard absolutely nothing” and that “We probably will know when it’s announced publicly.”

Even Kalispell attorney Dana Christensen, the man who vetted the applicants for U.S. Attorney claims to be out of the loop:

“I vetted six applicants back in December and January,” Christensen said. “I was receiving intermittent information for a while, but I haven’t heard anything for a couple of months. I’ve sort of been at a loss as far as what the status is. All I’ve heard is rumor.”

One of the six candidates to be interviewed was Baucus’ state director and senior counsel Melodee Hanes.  But Baucus’ office confirmed in March that Hanes did not make it onto the list submitted to the President.  Another one of the six was 20 year Montana State Senator and Missoula County attorney Fred Van Valkenburg, but he says that it’s unlikely he’s one of the three finalists:

“I think that there were three people interviewed in January by senators Baucus and Tester; I was not included in those interviews, and I have not been kept in the inside loop,” Van Valkenburg said.

If having a nice website counts for anything, Wheat is a shoe-in for the job.