Brett Tolman
Brett Tolman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Attorney for the District of Utah | |
| In office July 2006 – December 2009 | |
| President | George W. Bush Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Paul Warner |
| Succeeded by | David Barlow |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Brett L. Tolman June 10, 1970 |
| Education | Brigham Young University (BA, JD) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Brett L. Tolman (born June 10, 1970) is an American lawyer. He served as a United States Attorney for the District of Utah from July 2006 to December 2009. Before becoming U.S. Attorney, Tolman worked as counsel in the Senate Judiciary Committee for committee chairs Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and then Arlen Specter (R-PA) during the 109th United States Congress.
Early career
[edit]
Tolman received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Brigham Young University in 1994, and his Juris Doctor degree cum laude from the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1998. Tolman clerked for U.S. District Chief Judge Dee Benson of the United States District Court for the District of Utah from 1998 to 2000.[1] Tolman then served four years as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Utah under U.S. Attorney Paul Warner. In 2003, he began work on the staff of U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Later, Tolman staffed for Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) after Specter became judiciary chairman. While working for Senators Hatch and Specter, Tolman was Counsel for Crime and Terrorism, which included work on drafting and negotiating passage of the USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization.[2]
U.S. Attorney
[edit]
On January 25, 2006, U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah Paul Warner announced he would step down to become the newly created fourth U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Utah.[3][4] A struggle over who would succeed him in office ensued, the two candidates being Tolman and Kyle Sampson, then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's chief of staff at the Department of Justice. Both Tolman and Sampson are Utah natives who had graduated from Brigham Young University. While Gonzales and the White House favored Sampson, Tolman received support from Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA), Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Senate Judiciary Committee member Mike DeWine (R-OH).[5] Hatch made a personal appeal to Attorney General Gonzales to drop his nomination of Kyle Sampson. On June 9, 2006, President Bush nominated Tolman to the Utah post, and on July 21, 2006, the Senate confirmed Tolman by voice vote.[1]
Private legal career
[edit]In December 2009, Tolman resigned and joined the Salt Lake City law firm Ray Quinney & Nebeker. In 2019, Tolman resigned from Ray Quinney & Nebeker to start his own firm, the Tolman Group, which focuses on public policy and government reform. Tolman has been featured on Fox News discussing current events.[6][7][8][9][10][11]
Criminal justice reform
[edit]Tolman was a leading supporter of the First Step Act, a bipartisan criminal justice bill passed by the 115th United States Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in December 2018. Tolman has been a prominent advocate for clemency requests, including for former Arkansas legislator Jeremy Young Hutchinson; media personalities Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley; and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.[12][13]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Fattah, Geoffrey (July 22, 2006). "Young new prosecutor is no novice". Deseret Morning News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
- ↑ "Biography of Brett L. Tolman". United States Department of Justice. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
- ↑ Fattah, Geoffrey (November 29, 2005). "U.S. attorney may step down soon". Deseret Morning News. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
- ↑ "Biography of Paul Warner". United States Department of Justice. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
- ↑ "Hatch, White House at odds over U.S. attorney nomination". Daily Herald. February 18, 2006. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
- ↑ Gearty, Robert (August 13, 2019). "Prince Andrew's link to Jeffrey Epstein draws new scrutiny after suicide, document dump". Fox News.
- ↑ "Are prominent Democrats getting rich off public service?". Fox News. August 25, 2019.
- ↑ "Obama reportedly told Biden 'you don't have to do this' ahead of 2020 run". Fox News. August 17, 2019.
- ↑ "Senate report finds Clinton emails sent to cryptic Gmail account". Fox News. August 17, 2019.
- ↑ "Judge denies Jeffrey Epstein bail over fears of witness intimidation". Fox News. July 18, 2019.
- ↑ "Elizabeth Smart prosecutor reacts to release of kidnapper". Fox News. September 12, 2018.
- ↑ Schmidt, Michael S.; Vogel, Kenneth P. (January 17, 2021). "Prospect of Pardons in Final Days Fuels Market to Buy Access to Trump". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ↑ Dixon, Matt (May 31, 2025). "Trump pardons drive a big, burgeoning business for lobbyists". NBC News. Retrieved July 4, 2025.