The Obama administration is preparing to announce the nomination of James Cole, a top white-collar criminal defense attorney in Washington, D.C., to serve as deputy attorney general, reports ProPublica.org. Cole, a partner at Bryan Cave, is a former federal prosecutor and a longtime friend and former colleague of of Attorney General Eric Holder.
Holder’s previous deputy, David Ogden, left the department in February after serving less than a year. Ogden led Obama’s transition team for the Justice Department, but officials said he and Holder did not work well together and that Ogden agreed last fall to step down. In addition to his years in government, Cole, 57, has had a number of high-profile clients, including Edwin Edwards, the former Democratic governor of Louisiana. He has also served as an independent monitor at AIG.