Patrick Leahy: “today we confirm Thomas D. Anderson as U.S. attorney for the District of Vermont. I am pleased that we acted promptly in…”

“today we confirm Thomas D. Anderson as U.S. attorney for the District of Vermont. I am pleased that we acted promptly in the Judiciary Committee to report Tom's nomination to the floor and that the Senate is acting promptly to confirm him. As an assistant U.S. attorney in Burlington for 14 of the last 19 years, the managing partner of a respected Burlington law firm, and as deputy state's attorney in Newport, Tom's varied experience and long ties to Vermont have prepared him well to be Vermont's top Federal law enforcement official. We have a strong tradition of good law enforcement in Vermont. Our most recent U.S. attorneys are part of that tradition. Charlie Tetzlaff served an extended term and has gone on to distinguish himself as the Executive Director of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Peter Hall served ably and now fills the Vermont seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Tom is the kind of well-qualified consensus nominee who can be easily confirmed by the Senate. In fact, I joined with Republican Gov. Jim Douglas in recommending Tom to President Bush. As a former prosecutor, I have been particular impressed with his work since returning to the U.S. Attorney's Office in 2001 as head of the narcotics unit and as the lead attorney of the Department of Justice's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.…”