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• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)-is on the committee that oversees US Attorney nominations, lawfully deferred to NY Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for confirmation of Jay Clayton to replace Geoffrey Berman (Bharara’s replacement)
• SDNY Prosecutes Financial & Organized Crime–AG Bill Barr appointed US Attorney for NJ Craig Carpenito in the interim while the chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Jay Clayton on June 19, 2020 awaits Senate approval to replace SDNY Prosecutor & Trump Appointee Geoffrey Berman, fellow shareholder with Rudy Giuliani at Greenberg Traurig (Rudy supported Berman for NJ, but not SDNY). After offering Berman a promotion as head of the DOJ Civil Division, Barr falsely stated he resigned, as Berman contested with stating he had no intention to; June 20, 2020- Barr said Trump ordered Berman fired and would be replaced by Audrey Strauss in the interim; House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said he would open an investigation into the firing by Trump via Barr of Giuliani’s investigating attorney; Berman was an associate attorney of theIran Contra investigation under Lawrence Walsh 1987-1990; Berman entered private practice at Latham & Watkins under Fmr. US Attorney in NJ Michael Chertoff and secretary of DHS, the Department of Homeland Security and monitored the mob-infiltrated New York City Brotherhood of Carpenters; Joon Kim replaced Preet Bharara.  Fired US attorney Preet Bharara replaced by longtime friend Syracuse Updated Jan 04, 2019; Posted Mar 14, 2017 “Joon H. Kim, 45, who had previously served as Bharara’s chief counsel, criminal division head and top deputy, will be acting U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York until Trump nominates a candidate for the job who can be confirmed by the Senate. In the meantime, Kim, the son of a South Korean diplomat who came up through the ranks of the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan prosecuting organized crime and terrorism cases with his old boss….Jennifer Rodgers, the executive director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School. Rogers once worked with Kim on a case against Peter J. Gotti, a son of the late Gambino crime boss John Gotti Jr.”: (46)
  • Rudy Giuliani– SDNY Geoffrey Berman investigating for Ukraine Impeachment activities

All US Attorneys Appointed by Obama Told to Resign Courthouse News.  March 10, 2017;    

• Jay Clayton, Securities and Exchange Commeission (SEC) Chair/SDNY Appointee US ATTY Waiting Senate–AG Bill Barr associate Sullivan & Cromwell, represented Deutsche Bank (2017 exceeded $5,000) Goldman Sachs, Bill Ackman (Pershing Capital), ; Fined & Resigned as Chairman of the Board: September 29, 2018 Elon Musk-Tesla $20 million for misleading investors in a Tweet that boosted the stock price;
  • • Jay Clayton Wikipedia:”Alibaba Group,^[11] Ally Financial, Och-Ziff Capital Management, Oaktree Capital Management, Blackhawk Network Holdings, and Moelis & Company.^[7] During the financial crisis of 2007–2008, Clayton advised Bear Stearns in its fire sale to JPMorgan Chase in 2007, Barclays Capital in the purchase of Lehman Brothers‘ assets following their bankruptcy, and Goldman Sachs in connection with the investment by Berkshire Hathaway.^[4]. Clayton disclosed to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics that his other corporate clients had included TeliaSonera AB, Ally Financial, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Volkswagen, SoftBank Group, The Weinstein Company, Pershing Square Capital Management, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals. Clayton’s individual clients included Ocwen‘s former head William Erbey,^[12]Paul Tudor Jones, former Attorney General of Ireland Peter Southerland, CDW founder Michael Krasny and LinkedInf ounder Reid Hoffman.^[13]. Clayton earned $7.6 million in 2016 from his firm and has a family wealth of at least $50 million. A substantial portion of his holdings were in mutual funds of the Vanguard Group. His investments also included private funds managed by Apollo Global Management, Bain Capital, J.C. Flowers & Co., and Richard C. Perry but he divested these investments upon confirmation.^[13]“

• Craig Carpenito SEC Enforcement then, 2003-2008 healthcare & securities fraud, drugs/arms/federal crime staffer for US Attorney Chris Christie in NJ, prosecuted $3.28 billion restitution accounting fraud-Walter Forbes/Chair of Cendant Corp; Alston & Bird Government & Internal Investigations; represented Christie in Bridgate/Ft. Lee Lane Closure Scandal

The Supreme Court

Trump’s shortlist down to 4 Supreme Court nominees, sources tell ABC News September 19, 2020

Attorney General Sessions Appoints 17 Current and Former Federal Prosecutors as Interim United States Attorneys  Janu

Shawn Anderson – Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands
Geoffrey Berman – Southern District of New York
Gregory Brooker – District of Minnesota
Craig Carpenito – District of New Jersey
Stephen Dambruch – District of Rhode Island
Richard Donoghue – Eastern District of New York
Dayle Elieson – District of Nevada
Duane Evans – Eastern District of Louisiana
Timothy Garrison – Western District of Missouri
Nick Hanna – Central District of California
Joseph Harrington – Eastern District of Washington
Grant Jaquith – Northern District of New York
Maria Chapa Lopez – Middle District of Florida
Kenji Price – District of Hawaii
Matthew Schneider – Eastern District of Michigan
Gretchen Shappert – District of the Virgin Islands
Alexander Van Hook – Western District of Louisiana

New nominations as of November 2017

The Senate Judiciary Committee approves

Trump judge nominee, 36, who has never tried a case, wins approval of Senate panelLA Times November 10, 2017 Brett J. Talley, 36, is part of what Trump has called the “untold story” of his success in filling the courts with young conservatives. Talley has never tried a case and was unanimously rated “not qualified” by the American Bar Assn.’s judicial rating committee.

Brett Joseph Talley is a deputy assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice. On September 7, 2017, Talley was nominated to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama by President Donald Trump (R).^[1][2][3]

President Donald Trump submitted eight nominations to the U.S. Senate for federal judicial positions. Seven of the nominees are to Article III positions where, if confirmed, the nominees are eligible to serve life terms. The other nominee, Stephen Schwartz, if confirmed, would be commissioned to serve a 15-year term on the United States Court of Federal Claims.^[16]

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Stephanos Bibas is a professor of law and of criminology, and is the director of the University of Pennsylvania Law School’s Supreme Court clinic. On June 19, 2017, Bibas was nominated to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by President Donald Trump (R). Bibas earned a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from Columbia University in 1989. He also earned a bachelor’s degree (1991) and a master’s degree (1998) from Oxford University. He earned his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1994. During his legal studies, Bibas was a symposium editor for the Yale Law Journal. He was part of a team that won the university’s Stewart Prize for the best moot court team and, individually, he won the Thurman Arnold Prize for best oralist at moot court. The current vacancy warning level of this court is yellow. Under current law, the court has 14 active judicial positions with three current vacancies.[17][18][19][20] “

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Ralph Erickson is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota. He joined the court in 2003 after a nomination from President George W. Bush (R). From 2009 to 2016, Erickson served as the chief judge of the district court. On June 7, 2017, Erickson was nominated to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit by President Donald Trump (R). Born in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, Erickson graduated from Jamestown College with a bachelor’s degree in 1980 and from the University of North Dakota School of law with his J.D. in 1984. The current vacancy warning level of this court is yellow. Under current law, the court has 11 active judicial positions with two current vacancies.[21][22]

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Allison Eid is a justice on the Colorado Supreme Court. Her current term expires in January 2019. She is the 95th justice to serve on the court. Eid was appointed to the court by Republican Governor Bill Owens on February 15, 2006, to succeed Justice Rebecca Kourlis, who retired. She was retained by voters in November 2008. On June 7, 2017, Eid was nominated by President Donald Trump (R) to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated upon the elevation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court of the United States. During Trump’s presidential campaign, he included Eid on a second list of individuals that he “would consider as potential replacements for Justice Scalia at the United States Supreme Court.” Eid received her bachelor’s degree in American studies with distinction from Stanford University in 1987. She received her J.D. with high honors from the University of Chicago Law School in 1991. The current vacancy warning level of this court is blue. Under current law, the court has 12 active judicial positions with one current vacancy.[23][21]

United States District Court for the District of Columbia

Dabney Friedrich was a commissioner on the United States Sentencing Commission from 2006 to 2016. On June 7, 2017, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Friedrich to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Friedrich earned her B.A. in economics from Trinity University, her J.D. from Yale Law School, and a diploma in legal studies from Oxford University. Prior to serving on the U.S. Sentencing Commmission, Friedrich served as associate counsel to President George W. Bush (R) from 2003 to 2006. The current vacancy warning level of this court is orange. Under current law, the court has 15 active judicial positions with four current vacancies.[21][24][25] “He and his co-counsel won a landmark victory in Padilla v. Kentucky in 2010, persuading the Court to recognize the right of noncitizen defendants to accurate information about deportation before they plead guilty.  His academic work also played a central role in the Supreme Court’s 2004 landmark case of Blakely v. Washington. “National Review

United States District Court for the District of Columbia

Timothy J. Kelly is chief counsel for national security and senior crime counsel to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). He also serves as the Republican staff director for the Senate’s caucus on international narcotics control. On June 7, 2017, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Kelly to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Kelly earned his bachelor’s degree from Duke University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. During his legal studies, he served as the senior associate editor of the American Criminal Law Review. Hearings on Kelly’s nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee were held on June 28, 2017. The current vacancy warning level of this court is orange. Under current law, the court has 15 active judicial positions with four current vacancies.[21]

United States District Court for the District of Columbia

Trevor McFadden is a deputy assistant attorney general in the criminal division of the U.S. Department of Justice. On June 7, 2017, President Donald Trump (R) nominated McFadden to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. McFadden earned his bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. During his legal studies, he served on the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review. Hearings on McFadden’s nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee were held on June 28, 2017. The current vacancy warning level of this court is orange. Under current law, the court has 15 active judicial positions with four current vacancies.[21]

United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky

Claria Horn Boom is a Lexington, Kentucky-based member of Frost Brown Todd LLC. On June 12, 2017, Boom was nominated to a shared seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky and the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky by President Donald Trump (R). Boom earned her B.A., summa cum laude, from Transylvania University in 1991. She earned her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School, Order of the Coif, in 1994. During her legal studies, she served on the executive editorial board of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law. The current vacancy warning level of the Eastern District of Kentucky is orange, with two vacancies among six active judicial positions. The current vacancy warning level for the Western District of Kentucky is also orange, with one vacancy among four active judicial positions.[26][27]

United States Court of Federal Claims

Stephen Schwartz is a partner at Schaerr Duncan LLP in Washington, D.C. On June 7, 2017, Schwartz was nominated to a seat on the United States Court of Federal Claims by President Donald Trump (R). If confirmed, Schwartz would be commissioned to serve a 15-year term on the court. Schwartz earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale University and his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. During his legal studies, Schwartz was an editor of the University of Chicago Law Review. The current vacancy warning level of this court is orange. Under current law, the court has 16 active judicial positions with six current vacancies.[21]

New confirmations

There were no new confirmations since our May 2017 report.