WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama intends to nominate U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch as his next attorney general, the White House said Friday. If confirmed, she would be the first black woman to serve in that post.
Lynch, 55, is an experienced prosecutor with deep relationships inside the Justice Department and a long history of litigating political corruption, terrorism and organized crime cases.
“Ms. Lynch is a strong, independent prosecutor who has twice led one of the most important U.S. attorney’s offices in the country,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest in a statement.
He said that Lynch and outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder will join Obama in the Roosevelt Room on Saturday for the announcement of the nomination.
Lynch “will succeed Eric Holder, whose tenure has been marked by historic gains in the areas of criminal justice reform and civil rights enforcement,” Earnest said.
Lynch was the least controversial of the final choices before the president, according to several government officials. She has been confirmed twice by the Senate, and she was respected for the way she conducted several high-profile cases without seeking publicity.
Still, the nomination could spark a battle. Republicans warned before the midterm election that they opposed the idea of approving a nomination in a lame-duck session of Congress. Democrats might choose to have the confirmation fight while they still have control of the Senate.
Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, who will be the new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Friday that he expected Lynch to get a “very fair but thorough vetting” from the committee.
“U.S. attorneys are rarely elevated directly to this position, so I look forward to learning more about her, how she will interact with Congress and how she proposes to lead the department,” said Grassley, who has tangled repeatedly with Holder. “I’m hopeful that her tenure, if confirmed, will restore confidence in the attorney general as a politically independent voice for the American people.”
Lynch, who had been rumored for weeks to be a leading contender to replace Holder, is chairwoman of the Justice Department review commission that has advised Holder on policy decisions.
In that capacity, she has worked closely with several senior Justice officials, including former Associate Attorney General Tony West, who stepped down from his post in September.
“Loretta’s an excellent choice — smart, steady, talented and experienced,” West said Friday. “You’d be hard-pressed to come up with anyone better qualified or more prepared to be the nation’s next attorney general.”
Lynch has twice been confirmed by the Senate to serve as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, first from 1999 to 2001 under President Clinton and again in 2010.
The daughter of a Baptist minister, Lynch grew up in Greensboro, N.C. She received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
Lynch enjoys the strong support of Democrats and progressive activists.
Nan Aaron, president of the Alliance for Justice, which represents a coalition of 100 liberal groups, cheered the prospect of Lynch’s nomination.
“We are confident that Lynch will build on Holder’s strong legacy of standing up for civil rights and ensuring equal justice for all Americans,” she said.
Obama had planned to announce Lynch’s nomination when he returned from a week-long trip to Asia that starts Sunday, government officials said. After media reports surfaced about the Lynch selection, the White House moved up the announcement to Saturday.
Loretta lynch
Born: 1959 in Greensboro, N.C.
Education: Bachelor of arts in English and American literature, Harvard College, 1981; law degree, Harvard Law School, 1984.
Experience: U.S. attorney general for the Eastern District of New York, 2010-present; partner at Hogan & Hartson in New York, 2002-2010; office of the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, 1990-2001; associate at New York law firm Cahill Gordon & Reindel, 1984-1990.
Cases: Lynch has overseen bank fraud and other public corruption cases, including the March conviction of New York state Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. after he was caught accepting bribes in a sting operation and the 2013 conviction of former state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. for looting taxpayer-subsidized health care clinics he ran. She also charged reputed mobster Vincent Asaro and his associates for the 36-year-old heist of $6 million in cash and jewelry from a Lufthansa Airlines vault at Kennedy Airport, dramatized in the movie “Goodfellas.” The Associated Press
