William McSwain

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Bill McSwain
William M. McSwain.jpg
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
In office
April 6, 2018 – January 22, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byZane David Memeger
Succeeded byJennifer Williams (acting)
Personal details
Born
William Miller McSwain

(1969-04-03) April 3, 1969 (age 52)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationYale University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Marine Corps
Years of service1993–1997
RankUS Marine O2 shoulderboard.svg First Lieutenant
Unit1st Battalion, 4th Marines
AwardsNavy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Sea Service Deployment Ribbon

William Miller McSwain (born 1969) is an American attorney and a former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from April 6, 2018 to January 22, 2021.[1][2] He was nominated to the post by President Donald Trump. During his tenure, he frequently engaged in disputes with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner over criminal justice reform policies.[3]

Early life, education, and legal career[]

McSwain graduated from Yale University in 1991.[4] After graduating from Yale, he spent four years in the U.S. Marine Corps[5] as an infantry officer.[6] He commanded a platoon in that role.[5] In 2000,[4] he graduated from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.[6]

From 2003 to 2006, McSwain was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; the district, based in Philadelphia, covers nine counties (Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, Chester, Berks, Bucks, Lancaster, Lehigh, and Northampton).[5] In 2006, McSwain left the U.S. Attorney's Office to join the law firm Drinker, Biddle & Reath in Center City, Philadelphia.[6] His work principally focused on business litigation and white-collar defense matters, but he attracted attention among Pennsylvania Republicans for representing conservative litigants in cases over issues such as the Boy Scouts of America's exclusion of gay members and the Ten Commandments plaque at the Chester County Courthouse.[6][5] He was successful in both cases.[5] In published letters, McSwain defended George W. Bush-era "enhanced interrogation techniques" and, in 2016, criticized football player Colin Kaepernick as "uninformed and hypocritical" for his national anthem protests.[5]

United States Attorney[]

Nomination[]

President Donald Trump nominated McSwain to be the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the nomination was received in the Senate on December 21, 2017.[7][8] On March 15, 2018, his nomination was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by voice vote.[9] On March 20, 2018, the Senate confirmed McSwain's nomination by voice vote.[8] He was sworn in on April 6, 2018.[7][10] As a Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorney, McSwain became a civilian Officer of the United States and may use the style Honorable for life (by contrast, Interim U.S. Attorneys do not gain such style).

Tenure[]

During his time as U.S. Attorney, McSwain's public office spent $75,138 to put his face on four billboards in Philadelphia, as well as Allentown and Lancaster. The billboards have the slogan "Gun crime = fed time, no parole, every time," with McSwain's face taking up a third of the space on each billboard.[11] The move was controversial because of McSwain's political ambitions[12][11] and the likelihood that the advertising would increase his name recognition and face recognition.[11]

McSwain sued proposed Safehouse, a harm reduction nonprofit organization attempting to create a supervised injection site to prevent opioid overdose deaths in Philadelphia. The concept of a safe injection site was received with both opposition and support, with 90% of surveyed residents and 63% of business owners and employees in Kensington, the neighborhood of Philadelphia hardest hit by the opioid epidemic, approving the measure.[13][14][15][16] McSwain contended that the 1986 federal "crack house statute" prohibited the establishment of supervised injection sites. He originally lost his case in U.S. District Court, but won on appeal in a 2–1 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued on January 12, 2021.[17] Judge Stephanos Bibas, writing for the majority, held that the 1986 law barred the proposal and that "Safehouse's benevolent motive makes no difference."[16][18] Citing Gonzales v. Raich, the majority also held that "even though this drug use will happen locally and Safehouse will welcome visitors for free, its safe-injection site falls within Congress's power to ban interstate commerce in drugs."[16] Judge Jane Richards Roth dissented, "calling the logic behind the ruling 'absurd' and the 30-year-old statute on which it was based — one meant to go after owners and tenants of drug dens — 'nearly incomprehensible.'"[16][18]

As U.S. Attorney, McSwain often publicly feuded with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, both Democrats.[12][3] McSwain called Krasner "soft on crime" and blamed Krasner and his office for a lack of "robust enforcement". The assessments stemmed from Krasner's decision, with Kenny's support, to alter prosecutorial procedure amidst claims of "systemic racism" in the criminal justice system. McSwain further accused him of "lawlessness" and of ignoring "entire sections of the criminal code" after controversial decisions to not prosecute certain crimes, such as non-violent drug offences. He further criticized the D.A.'s office for downgrading charges during prosecutions. McSwain later said that his office had been "picking up the slack" for Krasner and that the U.S. Attorney's Office has prosecuted 70% more violent crime cases than it did the year before Krasner took office due to the latter's "lawlessness."[19] In an interview, in response to rising violent crime rates in Philadelphia, McSwain described the DA's policies as a failed "radical criminal justice experiment on the local level." Upon the announcement of his resignation on January 14, 2020, the District Attorney's office issued a statement saying they hope McSwain's successor has a sense of "humanity."[19]

McSwain criticized Krasner for approving a plea deal with a man who shot and gravely wounded a West Philadelphia shop owner with a AK-47 in the course of an attempted robbery. The plea deal entailed a state sentence of 3½ to 10 years in prison. McSwain's office prosecuted the man separately, under the doctrine of dual sovereignty, and obtained a federal conviction and sentence of 14 years for the shooter.[20]

McSwain pursued federal charges against Black Lives Matters activists who clashed with police during unrest in the summer of 2020.[3]

Resignation[]

On January 14, 2021, McSwain announced his resignation, just six days short of the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden. He left office on January 22.[21][22][3]

2022 campaign for Governor[]

See also: 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election

In March 2021, McSwain formed a political action committee, Freedom PA, to commence his bid for Pennsylvania Governor in 2022.[23]

In June 2021, while McSwain was preparing for a bid for Governor of Pennsylvania and vying for Trump's endorsement, McSwain sent a letter to Trump that said his office "received various allegations of voter fraud and election irregularities" and that then-Attorney General William Barr stopped McSwain from making public announcements about the allegations, as well as investigate them.[24] There is no evidence of significant fraud in the 2020 election.[25] Barr disputed McSwain's characterization of his actions and said that McSwain was making these claims to get Trump's support.[26][27][28]

McSwain officially launched his gubernatorial campaign on September 13, 2021.[29][30]

References[]

  1. ^ @McSwainPA (January 14, 2021). "Welcome! This is my new account. My last day as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of PA will be January 22nd -…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Questionnaire for Non-Judicial Nominees" (PDF). www.judiciary.senate.gov.
  3. ^ a b c d "Federal prosecutor in Philadelphia resigns as Trump departs". Associated Press. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Blumenthal, Jeff (January 14, 2021). "U.S. Attorney William McSwain announces resignation". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Roebuck, Jeremy (May 14, 2018). "In era of politicized prosecutors, Trump's U.S. attorney in Philly isn't out to change the system". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d Roebuck, Jeremy; Tamari, Jonathan (December 20, 2017). "Trump picks Center City lawyer William McSwain for U.S. attorney slot in Philly". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "William M. McSwain Sworn in as United States Attorney". U.S. Department of Justice.
  8. ^ a b PN1339 — William M. McSwain — Department of Justice 115th Congress (2017-2018), Congress.gov.
  9. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – March 15, 2018, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF).
  10. ^ Rellahan, Michael (June 30, 2018). "Chester County native William McSwain sworn in as US Attorney". The Mercury. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c Brennan, Chris (July 24, 2020). "U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain spent more than $75,000 to slap his name and face on billboards". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Meyer, Katie (January 14, 2021). "U.S. Attorney William McSwain, antagonist to Kenney and Krasner, resigns". WHYY. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  13. ^ Reid, Alecia (February 26, 2020). "'You Blindsided Us': Residents Outraged Over Safe Injection Site Being Put In South Philadelphia". CBS Philly. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  14. ^ Feldman, Nina (June 5, 2019). "Drexel survey shows wider neighborhood support for overdose prevention site". WHYY. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  15. ^ Whelan, Aubrey (June 6, 2019). "Philly's Kensington neighborhood, hard-hit by opioids, shows support for supervised-injection sites in survey". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  16. ^ a b c d United States v. Safehouse (3d Cir. 2021).
  17. ^ Feldman, Nina (January 14, 2021). "In Philadelphia, Judges Rule Against Opening 'Supervised' Site To Inject Opioids". npr. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  18. ^ a b Roebuck, Jeremy; Whelan, Aubrey (January 12, 2021). "A federal appeals court rejects plans for a supervised injection site in Philly". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Oprysko, Caitlin (August 15, 2019). "'I am fed up with it': Philadelphia U.S. attorney torches local D.A. after police standoff". POLITICO. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  20. ^ Shaw, Julie (August 13, 2020). "After 'sweetheart' deal from Philly DA, gunman gets 14 years in federal prison for shooting a store owner with an AK-47". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  21. ^ Roebuck, Jeremy (January 14, 2021). "U.S. Attorney William McSwain resigns after a tenure marked by high-profile cases, public feud with Krasner". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  22. ^ McCrone, Brian (January 14, 2021). "Republican US Attorney Who Sparred With Philly DA Resigns". WCAU. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  23. ^ Tamari, Jonathan (March 22, 2021). "Former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain is taking a step toward running for Pa. governor next year". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  24. ^ Brennan, Chris (July 12, 2021). "Trump is putting Bill McSwain in the hot seat with his election lies. And he just turned up the heat". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  25. ^ Tornoe, Rob (July 14, 2021). "What you need to know about Bill McSwain's letter to Donald Trump on Pa. voter fraud". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  26. ^ Barrett, Devlin; Zapotosky, Matt; Helderman, Rosalind S. (July 13, 2021). "William Barr clashes with former Trump appointee from Pa. over handling of election-fraud claims". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  27. ^ Tamari, Jonathan; Brennan, Chris; Roebuck, Jeremy (July 13, 2021). "Bill McSwain told Trump he was waved off 2020 election investigations. Bill Barr says that's not true". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  28. ^ Gerstein, Josh (July 13, 2021). "Barr shoots down former prosecutor's election-fraud claims". POLITICO. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  29. ^ Seidman, Andrew (September 13, 2021). "Bill McSwain says he's running for governor of Pa., officially joining competitive GOP primary". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  30. ^ Axelrod, Tal (September 14, 2021). "Former US attorney enters race for governor in Pennsylvania". The Hill. Retrieved September 14, 2021.

External links[]

Legal offices
Preceded by United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
2018–2021 		Succeeded by
Jennifer Williams
Acting
Retrieved from ""