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SALT LAKE CITY — The White House is weighing whether a top staffer to Republican Sen. Mike Lee should be Utah's next U.S. Attorney, and some Utah Democrats say they're dismayed.
President has taken months to fill the much-coveted post — 18 months, to be exact. Utah's last U.S. attorney, Brett Tolman, stepped down in December of 2009.
It' s frustrating, and it may very well have an impact at election time.
–Jeff Eisenberg, Utah Democratic Lawyers Council
Now the White House is vetting David Barlow, legal counsel to U.S. Sen. Mike Lee. He's a BYU and Yale graduate, a partner with the Chicago firm Sidley Austin, and has experience in litigation and product liability.
U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch calls Barlow "outstanding" and recommends him "highly."
"I recommended him; Senator Lee recommended him too," Hatch said. "I recommended him about two or three months ago, so it takes quite a while down at the White House. They do a lot of vetting."
When asked Monday about his recommendation, Lee declined to discuss it. "My policy is not to comment on the identity of individuals who might be under consideration for a presidential nomination," he said.
But Democrats are frustrated over the Obama administration's lengthy delay in filing U.S. attorney and judicial posts, here in Utah and across the country. They call it particularly vexing when other qualified Democrats have been offered but rejected.
One attorney says the move is baffling, especially when Democrats are being asked to support, financially and otherwise, the president and his re-election.
"It has an impact when you get questions about positions — like the U.S. attorney position, federal judicial appointments — and you really don't have an answer to give people," said Jeff Eisenberg, member of the Utah Democratic Lawyers Council. "It' s frustrating, and it may very well have an impact at election time."
The first lady is planning a Utah fundraiser soon. But one Democrat, who asked to remain anonymous, told KSL News, "Why give money (to the president's campaign) if we're just going to be ignored."
Email: jdaley@ksl.com
