Friday, July 14, 2017

07142017 - Portage Mayor James Snyder indictment drama just gets more and more entertaining



Poor federally indicted Mayor Snyder is having one of those 'someone peed in his Cheerios days', eh. One can only imagine his reaction to hearing that his defense attorney was named as the US Attorney for northwest Indiana.





Schererville lawyer nominated for U.S. attorney
Post-Tribune
July 14, 2017
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-us-attorney-nominee-st-0715-20170714-story.html
President Donald Trump nominated a Schererville attorney Friday to become the next U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Indiana.

Thomas Kirsch, now a partner at Winston and Strawn, LLP., in Chicago is one of the two potential U.S. attorneys nominated by the president, according to an announcement from Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind. Kirsch, if confirmed, will fill the vacancy left by former U.S. Attorney David Capp, a long-time federal prosecutor who led the Northern District of Indiana for eight years.

"Tom has a great legal mind and is a fearless litigator who has shown a willingness to take on powerful interests," said Young, in a statement. "I have no doubt he will continue the laudable work done by David Capp over the last decade."

Kirsch, 43, was unavailable for comment Friday.

Prior to joining Winston and Strawn, Kirsch was an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Indiana. Kirsch attended Indiana University and Harvard Law School.

"We're always happy to see our local talent rise to the top," said Adam Sedia, president of the Lake County Bar Association and an associate at Hoeppner Wagner and Evans, Merrillville.

Kirsch currently represents Portage Mayor James Snyder, who was indicted in November on public corruption charges, according to court records.

Capp, who worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office for more than 30 years, submitted his resignation in March per the request of the Trump administration, even though he planned to retire in June, according to a press release. In March, Attorney General Jeff Sessions sought resignations for the U.S. attorneys appointed under former President Barack Obama, the Associated Press reported.

Clifford Johnson, a first assistant U.S. attorney, is serving as the interim U.S. Attorney.

The president also nominated Joshua Minkler, of Zionsville, to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.










UPDATE: Schererville's Kirsch named new U.S. Attorney
NWI Times
Jul 14, 2017
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/schererville-s-kirsch-named-as-new-u-s-attorney/article_a918f0b8-de46-5165-aa04-6eeb6ba6d9ca.html



HAMMOND — President Donald Trump has nominated a Schererville man to be the next U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana.

Republican U.S. Sen. Todd Young congratulated Thomas L. Kirsch II, of Schererville, who will oversee criminal prosecutions for the U.S. District offices of Hammond, South Bend, Fort Wayne and Lafayette. The U.S. District of Northern Indiana comprises 32 counties.

Kirsch will replace Clifford Johnson, who has served as acting U.S. Attorney since David Capp's departure in March. His nomination is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Kirsch is currently a partner with the Chicago law firm of Winston & Strawn LLP, where his practice focuses on litigation and investigations.

Kirsch served as an assistant U.S. Attorney here from 2001 to 2008. He received his bachelor's degree from Indiana University in 1996 in economics and political science, with honors, and a law degree from Harvard University.

Kirsch currently is defense lawyer for Portage Mayor James Snyder, who on Nov. 16 was indicted on charges he solicited money from a local businessman to put him on the city's towing list. Snyder is a Republican in his second term as mayor of the largest city in Porter County. His federal corruption and bribery trial has been pushed back to January.

Neither Snyder nor Kirsch, who was out of his law office Friday afternoon, could be reached for comment.

Young today praised the nomination of what he termed an extraordinarily qualified Hoosier.

"Tom has a great legal mind and is a fearless litigator who has shown a willingness to take on powerful interests. I have no doubt he will continue the laudable work done by David Capp over the last decade," Young said.

Capp said Friday, "I think it's an excellent choice. Tom is a very experienced litigator. I worked hand in hand with him for about seven years. He has great judgment. I never hesitated to assign him our most complex case whether it was violent crime or public corruption.

"Tom will be well-received by everyone in the U.S. Attorney's office, law enforcement, the judiciary, the defense bar. He is a great choice," Capp said.

The biography on the law office's website states he focused as an assistant U.S. Attorney here on white collar investigations and prosecutions, including the prosecution of numerous elected and appointed public officials.

He also handled complex high-profile white collar investigations, prosecuted many jury trials, and briefed and argued numerous appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals.

He has prosecuted offenses in numerous areas including: mail and wire fraud; honest services fraud; tax fraud; bank fraud; health care fraud; conspiracy; extortion; money laundering; racketeering; obstruction of justice; perjury; and gangs and narcotics.

For one year, Kirsch also served as counsel to the assistant attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Policy. While in Washington, D.C., he assisted in developing legislative and policy proposals in corporate crime, violent crime and counter-terrorism.

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