U.S. attorney exits amid Holder replacement rumors

Originally published October 4, 2014 at 2:00 PM | Page modified October 4, 2014 at 7:03 PM

Jenny Durkan's office put away a lot of criminals -- terrorists, cartel operatives, killers -- during her five-year tenure as Seattle's top federal prosecutor.

Montez Cornelius isn't one of them.

A former Navy medic who served three tours in Iraq, Cornelius caught a break after he was charged with defrauding the government by lying about the distance he traveled to Veterans Administration appointments. Instead of being sent to prison, he entered a program Durkan pressed to create, one of the nation's first federal drug courts. He received addiction counseling, complied with court requirements and graduated without a conviction.

"It is a life-saving program," said Cornelius, who is now working on a master's degree. "I had never heard of prosecutors and judges having any kind of heart for people going through the system."

Durkan's decision to ask U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo S. Martinez to establish the program exemplifies the sort of initiative she exhibited as U.S. attorney -- a record that has some suggesting she could replace outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder.

"I made my voice clear to the White House," said former Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, who tapped Durkan as her personal lawyer years ago. "She is the perfect person to be named attorney general. She has provided significant leadership in the Department of Justice. We are well into the president's second term, and we need someone who can get in and hit the ground running."

Durkan's chances are unknown, but Gregoire planned to make the case again when she met with Vice President Joe Biden in Boston on Thursday. Durkan's name has also been pushed by national gay rights groups eager to see the appointment of the first openly gay Cabinet member.

"That my name is being mentioned at all is obviously an honor and a privilege, but what it's a real testament to is the work of this office," Durkan said in an interview before stepping down last week. "We are not only aligned with what I think the department's priorities have been, we've led the way in a lot of ways."

Among them: civil rights, including efforts to reform the Seattle Police Department. Before becoming U.S. attorney, Durkan served on police oversight panels and was concerned about what she considered recurring problems.

More here:
U.S. attorney exits amid Holder replacement rumors