Interim U.S. Attorney in Iowa Nominated for Confirmation -- After Serving a Year

[CornField]

From Iowa Independent

After nearly a year, it is now likely that Matt Michael Dummermuth, interim U.S. attorney for the northern district of Iowa and a native of Elgin, will face U.S. Senate confirmation hearings. The White House news service has reported that Dummermuth's official nomination for the position was sent to the Senate in December.

Dummermuth's appointment by President George W. Bush to replace retiring Charles W. Larson, Sr., came after a 2006 recommendation by Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, a lawmaker for whom Dummermuth previously interned. The appointment also followed the retirement of then-First Assistant U.S. Attorney Judi Whetstine, who was initially appointed as acting U.S. attorney for the district. Dummermuth was sworn in Jan. 30, 2007.

Nomination hearings before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary have yet to be scheduled since, according to staff reports, certain paperwork has not yet been submitted. Among the items missing are "blue slips," forms from Iowa's senators that provide support of the nomination. Grassley's press office indicated his blue slip will be delivered Friday. A spokeswoman in Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin's office said Harkin is currently reviewing information and remains unsure if he will support the nomination.

Dummermuth, who at 34 is one of the youngest of the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys, has spent the past year stacking up a wealth of drug and gun convictions. He has spoken to several area school districts on the topic of Internet predators, an issue he has made into a focus of his tenure. His on-the-job training, however, hasn't necessarily spared him being soiled by the ongoing U.S. attorney appointment controversy.

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