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The Senate on Tuesday delivered the long awaited confirmation of Deputy Attorney Gen. James Cole.
By a vote of 55-42, the Senate confirmed Cole, 59, who had been nominated by the White House more than a year ago. But he bumped up against Republican opposition, so President Obama ended up giving him a recess appointment in December.
The Senate on Tuesday also confirmed Lisa Monaco, as Assistant Attorney General for National Security and Virginia Seitz, as Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel.
“I am pleased the Senate moved to confirm Jim, Lisa and Virginia, following their appointments by President Obama,” Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. said in a statement. “I’m confident they will provide invaluable leadership to the department, and will play a critical role in protecting the American people, ensuring the fairness and integrity of our financial markets and restoring the traditional missions of the department.”
Cole first joined the department in 1979 as part of Attorney General’s Honors Program and served there for 13 years – first as a trial attorney in the Criminal Division, and later as the Deputy Chief of the Division’s Public Integrity Section.
He entered private practice in 1992, and became a partner with Bryan Cave LLP in 1995, specializing in white collar defense.
In 2005, he was appointed as an independent monitor at the insurance company AIG to review five years of transactions following a settlement with regulators involving allegations the company was setting up sham transactions to hide losses.
In 2006, he was charged with developing financial reporting and regulatory compliance programs at AIG.
