>>7943948 (Q #3801)
Hartford Courant (CT) article - Oct. 27, 2017
John Durham Named Interim U.S. Attorney; Presidential Nomination Expected
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-us-attorney-20171020-story.html
John H. Durham, a veteran mob prosecutor who has been tapped repeatedly by the Justice Department to settle complicated, national legal controversies, was named interim U.S. Attorney Friday and his nomination by President Donald J. Trump is expected to follow shortly.
Over his 40-year career, Durham has locked up scores of mobsters, supervised successful prosecutions of more than a dozen corrupt Connecticut politicians — including a governor — and helped develop and carry out a widely imitated, federal-state strategy against inner city gun and drug violence.
Outside Connecticut, beginning in the late 1990s, Durham, a Republican accepted controversial assignments for successive presidential administrations of both political parties.
On orders from the Bill Clinton justice department, he directed an investigative team that waded into the tribal morass of Boston law enforcement, identifying and prosecuting corrupt FBI agents and police officers who fed the infamous Irish gangster James “Whitey” Bulger information he used to kill informants.
A decade later, Durham went to Washington, twice, on instructions from the George W. Bush and Barack Obama justice departments to evaluate allegations of torture and cover-up by CIA operatives in aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Durham replaces outgoing U.S Attorney Deirdre M. Daly, whose last day in office was Friday. Daly was an appointee of President Barack Obama.
Durham’s selection as U.S. Attorney, Connecticut’s top federal law officer, has been long anticipated. He has the support of former officeholders of both parties, the White House counsel’s office, the justice department and Connecticut’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Christopher Murphy, both sharp Trump critics.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued an order Friday naming Durham interim U.S. Attorney, and Connecticut’s Chief U.S. District Judge, Janet C. Hall, swore him in Friday afternoon. Trump’s nomination had been expected late this week, as Daly prepared to leave, but apparently was delayed.
For much of his career, Durham, 67, has been a top deputy in the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Haven. His nomination has wide support in Connecticut and Washington, making confirmation by the U.S. Senate all but certain, and meaning he can close his career as the state’s top federal law officer.