Front-Runner Emerges For U.S. Attorney Job

Ex-Prosecutor Called Norton's 1st Choice

Ronald C. Machen, a former federal prosecutor, has emerged as the leading contender to be the next U.S. attorney in the District, according to sources close to the selection process.

Machen was the top choice of Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) when she submitted the names of three candidates to President Obama several weeks ago, sources said.

The sources, who asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to comment publicly, said Machen was being vetted for the job and will probably be nominated if he passes the required background checks.

Machen, 40, did not return e-mails or phone calls seeking comment. An Obama administration official cautioned that the final decision had not been made.

Machen, a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, is a partner at the law firm WilmerHale, where he has specialized in internal investigations for corporations. He was an assistant U.S. attorney in the District from 1997 to 2001, handling crimes ranging from theft to mail fraud.

Machen has donated $4,350 to Obama's campaigns in recent years. He gave $250 to Obama's U.S. Senate campaign in 2003, a year before Obama, then an Illinois state senator, emerged on the nation's political radar, according to campaign finance records.

The U.S. attorney job is one of the most coveted in federal law enforcement. As the District's top law enforcement official, the U.S. attorney oversees the largest federal prosecutors office in the country, with about 340 prosecutors who handle local and federal criminal cases. The District does not have an elected local prosecutor.

The Justice Department has declined to release any details about the office's budget.

Some of the nation's highest-profile crimes are handled by the District's federal prosecutors.

Norton played a key role in the selection process. She set up a panel to vet a half-dozen lawyers who applied for the post. She interviewed several and submitted her top three choices to Obama.

Sources have identified the other two candidates as Anjali Chaturvedi, 40, and Michael Bromwich, 55.

In a statement Wednesday, Norton confirmed that she had submitted names to Obama, and said, "The President has made his choice."

Administration officials indicated that might be premature.

"The president has not yet made a selection," said White House spokesman Ben LaBolt, declining to comment further.

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.