Lynch confirmed as Obama’s new AG

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed the nomination of Loretta Lynch to become President Barack Obama’s next attorney general.

The 56-43 vote ended a five-month deadlock that made her wait longer for confirmation than the last seven attorneys general combined. Lynch is the first black woman to become the top U.S. law enforcement official.

Nevada’s two senators split on the confirmation, with Sen. Harry Reid, D, voting yes, and Sen. Dean Heller, R, voting no.

“Loretta Lynch is as qualified a candidate as I have ever seen during my three decades in Congress,” Reid said, noting she had been confirmed unanimously twice before as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Heller said he was left with a bad taste in his mouth following a get-to-know-you meeting with Lynch on Feb. 24. The Nevadan’s main concern was issues surrounding Internet gambling, and he said he was not happy with her answers.

Heller asked Lynch if she would reconsider the controversial legal interpretation of the Interstate Wire Act of 1961 issued in December 2011 by Justice Department attorneys. Lynch was noncommittal.

In the opinion, attorneys for the department’s Office of Legal Counsel said the Wire Act, the federal law that restricts transmission of wagering information, applied only to sports gambling.

That reinterpretation opened the way for states to explore legalizing other forms of online gambling, but also has caused a split among brick-and-mortar casino companies.

“I wanted her to give me her assessment,” Heller said in an interview on Wednesday. “She claimed she knew very little about it.

“And I wasn’t happy with her answer because I knew as a prosecutor she had gone after Internet gambling cases offshore and that she should have had a very good knowledge, and I claim she does have a very good knowledge of the Wire Act. She just did not want to answer that question when she was in the meeting with me.

“That was a bit disingenuous and that really turned me off,” he said.

Lynch also was quizzed on the Wire Act and Internet gambling by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., during her Jan. 28 confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In written remarks afterward, Lynch said she would review the Wire Act memo but signalled she would be unlikely to revise it.

“It is my understanding … that OLC opinions are rarely reconsidered,” she said in a statement to the committee.

“Unless in the course of my review I conclude that OLC’s interpretation of the Wire Act is unreasonable, I do not intend to take any action to suspend or revoke the opinion,” she said at the time.

Meanwhile Thursday, the American Gaming Association issued an early congratulations to the new attorney general — and sought to enlist her in a campaign to combat illegal wagering.

“While we recognize you have no shortage of priorities demanding your time and stretching your resources, we believe illegal gambling should be a priority,” gaming association President Geoff Freeman said in a letter.

The gaming association launched an initiative earlier this month against illegal online and sports betting and black market slot machines, and is trying to build a coalition among state leaders and law enforcement officials.

Lynch awaited confirmation since November when Obama, a fellow Harvard Law School graduate, nominated her to replace Eric Holder. He was expected to step aside early next week so Lynch can take over as head of the U.S. Justice Department.

Despite the delay, Lynch was widely seen as less controversial than Holder, who often clashed with Republicans. She has said she aims to smooth relations with Congress.

As attorney general, her earliest tests would likely include handling civil rights cases stemming from deadly altercations between police and unarmed black men in several U.S. cities. The Justice Department has said it will look into bringing civil rights charges over the death of a Baltimore man who died after sustaining a spinal cord injury while in police custody.

Lynch would also inherit major financial cases involving allegations that some of the world’s largest banks manipulated the currency markets and the Libor benchmark interest rate.

Her nomination was backed by the Senate’s Judiciary Committee by a vote of 12-8 on Feb. 26. But her confirmation has languished over an impasse in the Republican-led Senate on an unrelated bill meant to protect human trafficking victims.

Democrats had balked at an anti-abortion provision included in the human trafficking bill, but that dispute was settled on Tuesday and the bill was approved on Wednesday.

An accomplished career prosecutor, Lynch has twice served as U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, N.Y., most recently since 2010. Her office there handled more terrorism prosecutions than most other offices in the United States. For two years, she also has led a committee that advised the attorney general on policy.

At a Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 28, Lynch said that her top priorities would include fighting terrorist threats and cyber crime, and improving relations between law enforcement and minority communities.

Reuters contributed to this report. Contact Review-Journal Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.