President Obama Nominates Four to Serve on the US District Court Bench

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, President Obama nominated Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel, John Z. Lee, Judge George Levi Russell, IIIand John J. Tharp Jr. to serve on the United States District Court bench.

"These individuals have demonstrated the talent, expertise, and fair-mindedness Americans expect and deserve from their judicial system," said President Obama.  "I am grateful for their willingness to serve and confident that they will apply the law with the utmost impartiality and integrity."

Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel serves as a judge on the Superior Court of San Diego, a position he has held since 2007.  Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Curiel spent 17 years as a federal prosecutor.  He served as an Assistant United States Attorney, first in the Southern District of California, from 1989 to 2002, and later in the Central District of California, from 2002 to 2006.  While in the Southern District, Judge Curiel was Chief of the Narcotics Enforcement Section from 1999 to 2002, having previously served as Deputy Chief of that Section for numerous years.  He began his legal career in private practice, first at James, James & Manning from 1979 to 1986, and later at Barbosa & Vera from 1986 to 1989.  Judge Curiel received his J.D. in 1979 from the Indiana University School of Law and his B.A. in 1976 from Indiana University.

John Z. Lee:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
John Z. Lee is currently a partner at the law firm of Freeborn & Peters LLP in Chicago, Illinois, where he primarily handles complex federal civil litigation.  Before joining Freeborn & Peters LLP in 1999, Lee worked as an associate at Mayer Brown LLP from 1994 to 1996 and at Grippo & Elden LLC from 1996 to 1999.  Lee began his legal career as a trial attorney in the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice.  He received his J.D. in 1992 from Harvard Law School and his A.B. in 1989 from Harvard College.

Judge George Levi Russell, III:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
Judge George Levi Russell, III, is an associate judge on the Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore City, where he has served since 2007.  Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Russell served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Maryland on two different occasions.  First, from 1994 to 1999, he handled civil matters for the office and later, from 2002 to 2007, he was assigned to the criminal division and prosecuted federal crimes.  Judge Russell worked in private practice at the Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos, PC from 2000 to 2002 and at Hazel & Thomas PC from 1992 to 1994.  He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert Bell of the Maryland Court of Appeals from 1991 to 1992.  Judge Russell received his J.D. in 1991 from the University of Maryland School of Law and his B.A. in 1988 from Morehouse College.

John J. Tharp Jr.: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
John J. Tharp Jr. is a partner and co-chair of the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Practice at the Chicago office of Mayer Brown LLP, where he has practiced since 1997.  From 1992 to 1997, Tharp served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois.  Previously, Tharp worked in private practice as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis from 1991 to 1992.  He began his legal career by serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Joel M. Flaum of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1990 to 1991.  Tharp received his J.D. magna cum laude in 1990 from the Northwestern University School of Law and his A.B. summa cum laude in 1982 from Duke University.  Prior to attending law school, Tharp served in the United States Marine Corps for five years.

President Obama Nominates Professor Scott L. Silliman and William B. Pollard, III to Serve on the US Court of Military Commission Review

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, President Obama nominated Professor Scott L. Silliman and William B. Pollard, III to serve on the United States Court of Military Commission Review.

“Today I am proud to appoint Scott L. Silliman and William B. Pollard to serve on the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review,” said President Obama.  “Their extensive experience in both military and civilian law make them uniquely qualified to both protect our national security interests and uphold our highest judicial standards.”

Professor Scott L. Silliman:  Nominee for the United States Court of Military Commission Review
Professor Scott L. Silliman is a Professor of the Practice of Law at Duke University School of Law, where his teaching and research interests focus on national security law, military law, and the law of armed conflict.  In addition, he served as Executive Director of the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security at the Law School from its inception in 1993 until July of 2011, and now serves as its Director Emeritus.  He received his B.A. in Philosophy in 1965 and his J.D. in 1968 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  After graduating from law school, he was called to active duty as an Air Force judge advocate.  During his 25-year career as a military attorney, he held a variety of leadership positions, including staff judge advocate and senior attorney for Tactical Air Command and later Air Combat Command.   During the Persian Gulf War, he supervised the deployment of all Air Force attorneys and paralegals incident to Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm.  Professor Silliman retired from the Air Force in 1993 and assumed his current position at Duke. 
 
William B. Pollard, III:  Nominee for the United States Court of Military Commission Review
William B. Pollard, III is a named partner at Kornstein Veisz Wexler & Pollard, LLP in New York City, where he has worked since 1993.  At the firm, he specializes in complex civil and white collar criminal cases, and grand jury and regulatory investigations.  From 1981 to 1993, Pollard was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York.  He served as the Deputy Chief in the Criminal Division of that office from 1988 to 1993.  Pollard began his legal career at the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton & Garrison, where he worked from 1974 until 1981.  He earned his A.B. at Washington University in St. Louis in 1970, and a joint J.D. and M.B.A. from Columbia University in 1974.

Statement by the President on the State Department's Keystone XL Pipeline Announcement

November 10, 2011

I support the State Department's announcement today regarding the need to seek additional information about the Keystone XL Pipeline proposal.  Because this permit decision could affect the health and safety of the American people as well as the environment, and because a number of concerns have been raised through a public process, we should take the time to ensure that all questions are properly addressed and all the potential impacts are properly understood.  The final decision should be guided by an open, transparent process that is informed by the best available science and the voices of the American people.  At the same time, my administration will build on the unprecedented progress we’ve made towards strengthening our nation’s energy security, from responsibly expanding domestic oil and gas production to nearly doubling the fuel efficiency of our cars and trucks, to continued progress in the development of a clean energy economy.

First Lady Michelle Obama Announces Major Private Sector Commitments to Hire 100,000 Veterans and Military Spouses in Support of Joining Forces

Leading Organizations Answer President Obama’s Challenge to Private Sector to Hire & Train Veterans and Military Spouses

Washington, D.C. – Today, in her keynote address to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Business Steps Up: Hiring our Heroes event, First Lady Michelle Obama announced that the International Franchise Association (IFA) which represents 1,100 franchises has committed to hiring 80,000 veterans and military spouses by 2014. 5,000 jobs of this commitment are promised to wounded warriors.  Mrs. Obama also announced that the Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) – which Dr. Jill Biden helped launch at the Chamber of Commerce last summer and which includes nearly 100 companies and organizations – has committed to employ 20,000 military spouses. These organizations include companies like Microsoft, Home Depot and Citi and franchises like UPS, Guidant Financial and Data Doctors. Together, the commitment by the International Franchise Association and the Military Spouse Employment Partnership represents a commitment to hire 100,000 veterans, wounded warriors and military spouses by 2014.

The IFA and MSEP are supporting Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden’s Joining Forces initiative and answering President Obama’s challenge to the private sector to offer jobs and career opportunities to veterans, wounded warriors and their families. Last month, the First Lady joined the President at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in announcing that the American Logistics Association (ALA) and their 270 affiliate companies committed to hiring 25,000 veterans and military spouses by 2014.

As part of the Joining Forces program’s focus on employment, the First Lady also announced a Veterans Job Bank tool, an open online resource supported by nearly a dozen technology and job search companies, including Simply Hired, Monster, and others to help veterans and military spouses search job openings from committed employers based on their location and skills. The Job Bank is designed with a simple, easy to use approach which is why last week, companies like Guidant Financial and Data Doctors learned about the tool and were able to quickly tag their postings, now part of the 550,000+ jobs available to veterans and military spouses today.

“When we think about what we’re announcing today, 100,000 new jobs committed and 550,000 searchable jobs online, those aren’t just numbers. There are millions of Americans all across this country who are working hard every day to find new ways to honor military families’ service,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. “All of this is adding up and thanks to the IFA and MSEP, they’re part of the wave of support forming that stretches across this country.”

“Over the past year, the White House’s Joining Forces and the Chamber’s Hiring Our Heroes initiatives have been united for a common goal: to ensure our veterans and military spouses can find jobs,” said Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “While we have made great strides in the past year, there is still much to do. Our partnership with Joining Forces will continue, as we spread this movement across the country to create an environment in which thousands of military veterans and military spouses can find meaningful employment in their local communities.”

“First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s leadership of Joining Forces has mobilized the franchise industry to step up its longstanding effort to provide opportunities for franchise small business ownership and employment opportunities to veterans and their families,” said IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira. “Franchising, due to its structured, scalable model, is an engine of job creation and provides a tremendous opportunity for returning veterans and their families to join the franchise industry and help lead the country to economic recovery. We are grateful and proud to be part of the White House Joining Forces Initiative.”

“Military spouses face unique challenges when pursuing careers, with time constraints and portability issues topping the list of obstacles.  The Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) aims to solve these challenges by connecting military spouses to career opportunities available through MSEP's employment partners,” said Dr. Jo Ann Rooney, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. “The Joining Forces effort, led by the First Lady and Dr. Biden are helping to address the issue of military spouse employment in a very personal and direct way -- by connecting jobs opportunities with the military spouses who need them.”

Mrs. Obama and Dr. Jill Biden created Joining Forces to bring Americans together to recognize, honor and take action to support military families as they serve our country and throughout their lives. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has supported their initiative by conducting hiring fairs for veterans and military spouses in 100 local communities across the country and will expand that number to several hundred next year.

For more information, visit JoiningForces.gov.