Three names reportedly on list to replace McKay as U.S. attorney

Rep. Dave Reichert has submitted to the White House the names of three candidates for U.S. attorney for Western Washington.

Interim U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sullivan, former Republican congressman Rick White and Michael Vaska, a corporate attorney, have been recommended as a permanent replacement for John McKay, according to sources close to the process.

McKay was asked by the Justice Department to resign on Dec. 7. His last day as U.S. attorney was Jan. 26.

Sullivan, who had been chief of the criminal division under McKay, took over on an interim basis the following day. Reichert, R-Auburn, was asked in late December or early January by the White House to come up with local candidates to replace McKay. He tapped Norm Maleng, King County prosecutor, to lead a panel to conduct a search.

Rep. Doc Hastings is the longest-serving Washington Republican. But Hastings has said that because he is from Eastern Washington, he asked Reichert to pick candidates to succeed McKay.

"We have submitted names to the White House," confirmed Mike Shields, Reichert's chief of staff.

Shields declined to identity the candidates. Shields said that the White House is not limiting its search to the people recommended by Reichert.

"We know they've talked to some people off of the list," Shields said.

Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle, confirmed that Sullivan has been interviewed by the White House.

Vaska, a corporate attorney at Foster Pepper in Seattle, declined to comment. White could not be reached for comment.

Sullivan, 63, has the most experience of the group.

Before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office in 2002, Sullivan spent 27 years as the Yakima County prosecutor, an elected position.

In that capacity, he tried more than 100 jury cases and argued twice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Vaska specializes in complex criminal and civil litigation, with a specialty in anti-trust cases, according to his biography on the Foster Pepper Web site.

He ran against Rob McKenna in the 2004 primary election to become the Republican candidate for Washington state attorney general, but lost by a wide margin.

In 1999, Vaska was an outspoken opponent of Tim Eyman's I-695 initiative, which capped Washington's car tax at $30 for all vehicles.

White represented Washington's 1st District in the House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999, rising to prominence as a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus.

He later spent four years as chief executive officer and president of TechNet, a lobbying organization based in Silicon Valley that sought to educate lawmakers about high-tech issues.

Democrats on Capitol Hill are investigating the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of McKay and seven other U.S. attorneys last year.

The Justice Department initially said the firings were for "performance-related" issues, then later cited policy differences on various issues.

Democrats have alleged the firings were politically motivated, either to install new U.S. attorneys who would be more loyal to the White House or to penalize prosecutors for their handling of public corruption or voter-fraud cases.

President Bush defended the firings Wednesday but said they were mishandled by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

David Bowermaster: 206-464-2724 or dbowermaster@seattletimes.com