Brett L. Tolman (born June 10, 1970) is a former

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the

District of Utah During the American Civil War in the early 1860s, the District of Utah was a subordinate district of the U.S. Army's Department of the Pacific. The district was composed of territorial areas that later became parts of the modern U.S. states of Ida ...

from July 2006 to December 2009. Before becoming U.S. Attorney, Tolman worked as counsel in the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

for committee chairs

Orrin Hatch Orrin Grant Hatch (March 22, 1934 – April 23, 2022) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Utah from 1977 to 2019. Hatch's 42-year Senate tenure made him the longest-serving Republican U.S. senator ...

(R-UT) and then

Arlen Specter Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican from ...

(R-PA) during the

109th United States Congress The 109th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, from January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007, dur ...

. Tolman’s most noteworthy work in the Senate is his role in the passage of the 2005 Patriot Act reauthorization. He was instrumental in the revisions to the appointment process of interim U.S. Attorneys and is a major (if not well-known) figure in the

dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy On December 7, 2006, the George W. Bush Administration's Department of Justice ordered the unprecedented midterm dismissal of seven United States attorneys. Congressional investigations focused on whether the Department of Justice and the White ...

Early career

Tolman received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

in 1994, and his law degree ''cum laude'' from the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1998. Tolman clerked for U.S. District

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

Dee Benson from 1998 to 2000. Tolman then served four years as an assistant

U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

in the District of Utah under U.S. Attorney Paul Warner. In 2003, he began work on the staff of U.S. Sen.

, (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Later, Tolman staffed for Sen.

(R-PA) after Specter became judiciary chairman. While working for Senators Hatch and Specter, Tolman was Counsel for Crime and Terrorism, which included work on drafting and negotiating passage of the USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization.

Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy

During Senate hearings on February 6, 2007, Senator Specter claimed that Tolman, on behalf of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

, added a clause to the bill that eliminated the term limits for interim appointments of U.S. Attorneys by the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. The change in effect allowed the President to bypass the Senatorial approval process for those interim U.S. Attorneys appointed by the Attorney General. This change in the law is at the center of the

dismissal of U.S. Attorneys controversy On December 7, 2006, the George W. Bush Administration's Department of Justice ordered the unprecedented midterm dismissal of seven United States attorneys. Congressional investigations focused on whether the Department of Justice and the White ...

. On March 20, 2007, the Senate voted 94–2 to re-instate the 120-day term limit on interim attorneys appointed by the Attorney General. On March 26, the U.S. House overturned it as well, by a vote of 329–78. The bill was sent to President Bush for his signature on June 4, 2007. A bill to amend chapter 35 of title 28, United States Code, to preserve the independence of United States attorneys.
(S.214 & H.R.580) ''THOMAS (Database),'' Library of Congress. Retrieved May 28, 2007. (Updated as activity occurs on the bill.)

Appointment as U.S. Attorney

On January 25, 2006, U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah, Paul Warner, announced he would step down to become the newly created fourth

U.S. Magistrate Judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduct ...

for the

. A struggle over who would succeed him in office ensued, the two candidates being Tolman and

Kyle Sampson D. Kyle Sampson (born in Cedar City, Utah) was the Chief of Staff and Counselor of United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. He resigned on March 12, 2007, amid the controversy surrounding the firing of eight United States Attorneys in 2 ...

, then Attorney General

Alberto Gonzales Alberto R. Gonzales (born August 4, 1955) is an American lawyer who served as the 80th United States Attorney General, appointed in February 2005 by President George W. Bush, becoming the highest-ranking Hispanic American in executive governme ...

’s chief of staff at the Department of Justice. Both Tolman and Sampson are Utah natives who had graduated from

. While Gonzales and the White House favored Sampson, Tolman received support from Senator

(R-UT), Senate Judiciary Committee chairman

(R-PA), Senate Majority Leader

Bill Frist William Harrison Frist (born February 22, 1952) is an American physician, businessman, and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1995 to 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as Senate Majority Lea ...

(R-TN), Senate Majority Whip

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...

(R-KY), and Senate Judiciary Committee member

Mike DeWine Richard Michael DeWine (; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th and current governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, DeWine began his career as a prosecutor before being elected to the O ...

(R-OH). Senator Hatch made a personal appeal to Attorney General Gonzales to drop his nomination of Kyle Sampson. On June 9, 2006, President Bush nominated Tolman to the Utah post, and on July 21, 2006 the senate confirmed Tolman by voice vote. In December 2009, Tolman resigned and joined the Salt Lake City law fir
Ray Quinney & Nebeker
Until a replacement could be named by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate, Carlie Christensen, a career attorney with the office, has been named as Acting U.S. Attorney. In 2019, Tolman resigned from Ray Quinney Nebeker to start his own firm, The Tolman Group. Brett Tolman founded The Tolman Group to focus on public policy and government reform. He has been featured on

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

discussing current events.

Pardon lobbying in the Trump Administration

On January 17, 2021, the ''New York Times'' published an article reporting that Tolman has "collect dtens of thousands of dollars, and possibly more, in recent weeks to lobby the White House for clemency for the son of a former Arkansas senator; the founder of the notorious online drug marketplace Silk Road; and a Manhattan socialite who pleaded guilty in a fraud scheme".

References

External links

U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Utah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolman, Brett L. 1970 births American Latter Day Saints J. Reuben Clark Law School alumni Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy Living people United States Attorneys for the District of Utah