The Dallas Morning News ran this astonishing story on Friday about the continuing role that Texas’ two GOP Senators intend to maintain in the selection of Texas’ U.S. District Judges and U.S. Attorneys. Apparently the Texas Democratic Congressional delegation thought that it would have the only say in making recommendations to the White House and DOJ, but a compromise of some sort has been worked out that appears to leave the Senators and their nominating committees in control. If true, this is quite surprising. The historical practice, when the party in the White House does not have a U.S. Senate seat in a particular state, is for DOJ and/or the White House to make the pick, with varying degrees of advice from state party members in the U.S. House or the Governor’s office. Obviously, the opposition party’s Senators must be consulted and the choice should not be offensive to them, since home state Senators have an effective veto over such picks. But the Senatorial role being envisioned now in Texas seems to be something different in nature.
There is no word yet on how this development will affect the appointment of a new U.S. Attorney in my old stomping grounds, the Western District of Texas (”WDTX”). The WDTX is one of the largest, busiest, and most important U.S. Attorney Offices in the country, encompassing more than 600 miles of border between the U.S. and Mexico and prosecuting a high number of major drug, drug gang, and money-laundering cases.
House Democrats representing Congressional Districts within the WDTX purportedly sent three names to the White House several weeks ago: Michael McCrum, Michael Bernard, and David Escamilla. All are men of integrity. I know and like Mike Bernard and have heard good things about David Escamilla, but in terms of competence and experience for this important position nobody matches Michael McCrum. Nobody.
In fact, Mike McCrum may be the most qualified U.S. Attorney candidate I have ever seen in any district in the country.
A former Dallas cop and San Antonio civil litigator, McCrum moved over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in WDTX in the late nineteen eighties. He rose through the ranks, garnering a well-deserved reputation as a highly skilled trial attorney (with a tireless work ethic) in major drug and money laundering cases. McCrum ultimately became Chief of the Drug Unit, and later Chief of the Major Crimes Unit, for several years, exhibiting outstanding administrative talents. As far as I know, neither of the other candidates for the post has any federal experience to speak of.
Since leaving the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2000 McCrum has handled a mix of criminal and civil work and is generally regarded as one of South Central Texas’ premier white collar defense attorneys, joining the ranks of the legendary Jack Leon and Gerry Goldstein. But even that doesn’t do Mike justice, because his practice (currently at Thompson & Knight) has become national and international in scope.
Finally, Mike is an American success story. A lifelong Democrat, Mike grew up speaking Spanish and English in a lower income neighborhood on San Antonio’s South Side. He is of Mexican heritage on his mother’s and stepdad’s side. Mike graduated highest in his Dallas Police Academy class and with honors from St. Mary’s Law School, where he was Executive Editor of the Law Review. He has been recognized in Best Lawyers In America every year since 2006 in the area of White Collar Criminal Defense and General Criminal Defense and was a Texas Super Lawyer in 2007 and 2008.
The only thing that troubles me is why Mike, or anybody else for that matter, would want the job in the first place. It is a really tough job and thankless in many ways. One thing for sure–McCrum doesn’t need it. He has done very well in private practice.
Mike is also an excellent motivator and speaker and possesses the kind of interpersonal, people, and diplomatic skills needed in the U.S. Attorney’s post. Perhaps most importantly, Mike is a very decent, serious human being with the all-important judgement, prudence, and gravitas required for the all-powerful U.S. Attorney position.
In short, this one is a no-brainer. Michael McCrum has the goods and he knows the district. It is not every day that a person of McCrum’s caliber puts forth his name for a U.S. Attorney slot. There is quite simply no rational reason for President Obama to choose anybody else.