GOP lawyer checked for U.S. attorney

The FBI is conducting a background check on former state Assemblyman Greg Brower to determine whether the Republican is fit to become the next U.S. attorney in Nevada, sources confirmed Thursday.

Brower, 43, serves as general counsel for the Government Printing Office, which is responsible for producing, authenticating and preserving information for the federal government.

Sen. John Ensign reportedly nominated Brower to succeed Daniel Bogden, who was fired in December by former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Neither Ensign nor Brower would comment on the nomination Thursday.

Brower represented District 26, which includes Carson City, Lake Tahoe and Reno, as an assemblyman from 1998 until 2002, when he was narrowly defeated by Sharron Angle, R-Reno. After his unsuccessful bid for re-election, Brower was offered a job at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

As inspector general and then general counsel of the Printing Office, Brower was responsible for implementing the then-newly adopted U.S. Patriot Act. The use of the Act, which was designed to protect the United States from terrorists, has been criticized in Nevada.

During their corruption probe into Southern Nevada politicians, federal investigators cited a little known provision in the Patriot Act to confiscate personal financial information.

If Brower is selected as Nevada's U.S. attorney, it will end a 10-month search for a replacement to Bogden.

Bogden was one of eight U.S. attorneys unexpectedly dismissed from their posts by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Gonzales initially said the firings were performance based, but Democrats believed the attorney general had a different motive: to allow President Bush to designate political allies to the prestigious positions.

During his five-year tenure as the chief of the U.S. attorney's office, Bogden received positive reviews from the Department of Justice.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Myhre has served as the acting U.S. attorney since Bogden's departure in February. Federal laws allow an acting U.S. attorney to serve for 120 days before an interim leader or permanent attorney is hired.

Brower was born in Wisconsin but moved to Las Vegas at a young age. He graduated from Bonanza High School in 1982 and received an undergraduate degree in political economy from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986. He earned his law degree in 1992 from George Washington University Law School. Brower served in the U.S. Navy for two years.

During his tenure in the state Assembly, Brower was a member of the committees on education, judiciary and taxation.

Brower is married with two daughters.