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5 Things to Know About Loretta Lynch, Obama's Atty. Gen. Nominee

By Daniel Taylor, Esq. on November 11, 2014 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

United States Attorney General Eric Holder recently announced that he was stepping down as soon as a successor could be found.

That successor has now apparently been found: It was announced over the weekend that U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch would be President Barack Obama's nominee for attorney general. If confirmed, Lynch would be the second African American to hold the post of attorney general, following Holder, who was the first.

What else should you know about Loretta Lynch? Here are five things:

  1. Lynch would be the first black woman to serve as attorney general. Beyond being just the second African American to serve in the position, Lynch would also be the first female African American attorney general. Lynch would also be just the second female attorney general following Janet Reno, who served from 1993 until 2001.
  2. Lynch went to Harvard -- twice. Lynch attended Harvard for both her undergraduate degree and her law degree, graduating from law school in 1984.
  3. Lynch is currently U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Lynch was appointed as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York in 2010 by President Obama. She previously held the same post from 1999 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton.
  4. Lynch prosecuted the NYPD officers convicted of beating Abner Louima. One of the highest profile cases Lynch was involved in as prosecutor was the case of United States v. Volpe. In that case, NYPD police officer Justin Volpe was found to have beaten and tortured Haitian immigrant Abner Louima inside a police station bathroom.
  5. Lynch also led the recent investigation into Rep. Michael Grimm. More recently, Lynch led the investigation into Rep. Michael Grimm, reports ABC News. Grimm, a Republican from Staten Island, was indicted on 20 criminal counts including tax fraud and perjury; despite those charges, Grimm was re-elected last week.

It is still unclear whether Loretta Lynch's confirmation as Attorney General will occur during the current lame-duck session of Congress or be postponed until the new Republican majority takes over Congress in 2015.

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