Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Brooklyn Prosecutor Accepts AG Nomination

WASHINGTON (CN) - U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn accepted the nomination to U.S. attorney general on Saturday.

Addressing reporters in the Roosevelt Room, Lynch thanked her "beloved office, the Eastern District of New York, my professional home," and vowed to focus on "nothing but the protection of the American people."

Though reports about the nomination emerged early Friday, the White House press secretary did not confirm that Obama's announcement was forthcoming until that night.

If confirmed by the Senate, Loretta Lynch will become the first black female attorney general of the United States.

"It's pretty hard to be more qualified for this job than Loretta," Obama said of Lynch in Washington on Saturday, noting that during her 30-year career, she's been "tough," and "fair" and has twice headed one of the most "prominent U.S. offices in the country."

It was also Obama who appointed Lynch as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York in 2010. President Bill Clinton had appointed her to the same position in 1999, but she stepped down in 2001 to enter for private practice.

The current attorney general, Eric Holder, announced his resignation in September.

"In a country that is built on the rule of law, there are few offices that are more important than attorney general," Obama said. "The attorney general is the people's lawyer."

He joked: "Loretta might be the only lawyer in America who battles mobsters and drug lords and terrorists and still has the reputation for being a charming people-person. But that's probably because Loretta doesn't look to make headlines, she looks to make a difference. She's not about splash, she is about substance."

Categories / Uncategorized

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...