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| Home Front: Politix |
| Low-profile NYC prosecutor emerges as contender to be first black woman US attorney general |
| 2014-11-07 |
| She's an under-the-radar contender to become the first black woman to head the Justice Department. Under-the-radar = newspeak for someone without a record. Loretta Lynch rarely holds news conferences, does interviews or gives speeches in her current job as U.S. attorney in Brooklyn. But the lack of a paper trail on Lynch hasn't kept her from emerging in recent weeks as one of only a handful of people still under consideration by the White House to replace the outgoing Eric Holder as attorney general. Nice of Obean to pull that out after the election. The buzz over the 55-year-old Harvard Law School graduate was apparent as she sat next to Holder for his appearance at a ceremony last week in Brooklyn highlighting efforts to divert low-level offenders into drug rehab and job diversion programs, one of the attorney general's pet causes. In her introduction of Holder before an audience that included U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of Manhattan — considered another attorney general contender — a judge made clear who she favors for the job. "We all hope that the 83rd attorney general is in this room — someone who may be wearing a little orange thing," said U.S. District Judge Carol Amon, referring to a colorful jacket Lynch had on. A spokesman for Lynch later said she wouldn't discuss her prospects, but her supporters were vocal. "She has everything that we would want in an attorney general," said Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson. "She has intelligence, dignity and the ability to be fair, but also tough. I have the utmost respect for her." Lynch, who grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, began her career as a federal prosecutor in 1990. While a chief assistant U.S. attorney, she was on the trial team in one of the most sensational police brutality cases in city history, the broomstick torture of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima in a precinct bathroom. She originally served as U.S. attorney in Brooklyn from 1999 to 2001 before entering private practice. She returned to the position in 2010 and was appointed to the Attorney General's Advisory Committee, a position that required her to spend more time in Washington and drew her closer to Holder. During her second tenure at one of the country's busiest federal districts, Lynch's office has won convictions in a thwarted, al-Qaida sanctioned plot to attack New York City subways, and charged the head of a Mexican drug cartel with 12 murders. More recently, her office brought tax evasion charges against Republican Congressman Michael Grimm that's scheduled to go to trial next year. Still, Lynch often has been overshadowed by the media-savvy Bharara, whose office has prosecuted numerous headline-grabbing cases against terrorists, corrupt politicians and Wall Street swindlers. But behind the scenes, she has won respect for dedicating much of her career to law enforcement without seeking publicity. "I don't think that's why she's in government and that's a real admirable quality," said Andrew Weissman, a former federal prosecutor who worked closely with Lynch and now teaches law at New York University. Thompson, who teamed with Lynch on the Louima case when he was an assistant U.S. attorney, recalled her cool under fire. "There was so much pressure to get it right. She was unflappable," he said. Seeing Lynch become the first black woman to serve in the position "would be inspiring to millions of people, especially children, to know what they could become," he said. Race and gender. Pay no attention to her short record. |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #11 g(r)omgoru: Sounds like a "hat trick" to me. |
| Posted by: Glavick Sninerong5546 2014-11-07 22:12 |
| #10 Not to worry - I'm sure our media will full vett her... just like her prospective boss. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2014-11-07 14:44 |
| #9 Obama is all about checking off those 'firsts' with the benefit of the ability to scream racism AND war on women if she doesn't fly through the Senate vote. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2014-11-07 14:35 |
| #8 Hope she is vetted much more thoroughly than her prospective boss was (which was not). She (1984) graduated from Harvard 4yrs before Obama (1988). From wiki: During her first term as U.S. Attorney, Lynch oversaw prosecution of the New York police officers in the Abner Louima case. The Reverend Al Sharpton has a working relationship with Loretta Lynch and has met with her in discussions concerning the death of Eric Garner killed during a police arrest. Does this mean she is a social justice clone of Obama and Holder? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2014-11-07 14:31 |
| #7 "Loretta Lynch" Al Sharpton to the white courtesy phone . . . . I'll go to my room now. |
| Posted by: gorb 2014-11-07 07:18 |
| #6 Helluva name, she's good to go. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2014-11-07 06:39 |
| #5 |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-11-07 06:19 |
| #4 I just wonder what "My People" means to her. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-11-07 06:12 |
| #3 Neither -- she checks off the correct categories and supports Obama's socialist policies. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2014-11-07 06:11 |
| #2 Is he the best candidate, or the best black candidate ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-11-07 05:42 |
| #1 I notice no husband/kids on her wiki entry. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-11-07 03:26 |