President Obama Nominates Four to Serve as United States Attorneys

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama nominated Kenneth Magidson, Sarah Ruth Saldaña, Robert Lee Pitman, and John Malcolm Bales to serve as United States Attorneys.

“These nominees have proven to be tenacious and diligent in their pursuit of justice and I am honored to nominate them to serve their fellow Americans as U.S. Attorneys,” President Obama said.  “They will be distinguished public servants.”

John Malcolm Bales:  Nominee for United States Attorney, Eastern District of Texas
Malcolm Bales is the interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, a position he has held since 2009.  Over the course of his career, Mr. Bales served within the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas as the Chief and Deputy Criminal Chief for the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (2009; 1992-1995), Assistant U.S. Attorney for Special Prosecutions (2006-2008), Chief of the Criminal Division (2003-2006), Attorney-in-Charge (1995-2003), and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (1989-1992).  Mr. Bales also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado in 1995.  From 1982 to 1989, Mr. Bales was a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Mr. Bales was an attorney for Hancock, Piedfor, Galton, McGill from 1981 to 1982.  Mr. Bales graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1977 and the University of Texas School of Law in 1980.

Kenneth Magidson:  Nominee for United States Attorney, Southern District of Texas
Kenneth Magidson has served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas since 1983, serving as the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Regional Coordinator since 1987, and as the Chief of the Narcotics Section from 1987 to 1989.  From 1996 to 1997, Mr. Magidson was the Director of the Executive Office for OCDETF in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.  Mr. Magidson has served Harris County, TX as the District Attorney in 2008, as an Assistant District Attorney from 1977 to 1983, and as the Chief Felony Prosecutor from 1981 to 1983.  Prior to this, Mr. Magidson was an attorney for the U.S. Customs Service from 1976 to 1977.  Mr. Magidson graduated from the University of Maryland in 1973 and the South Texas College of Law in 1976.  

Robert Lee Pitman:  Nominee for United States Attorney, Western District of Texas
Robert Pitman is a Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, a position he has held since 2003.  Previously, Judge Pitman served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1990 to 2003, serving as Division Chief from 1997 to 2001, interim U.S. Attorney in 2001, and Deputy U.S. Attorney from 2001 to 2003.  From 1996 to 1997, Judge Pitman was an Attorney Advisor for the General Counsel’s Office of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.  Judge Pitman was an Associate at Fulbright and Jaworski, LLP, from 1989 to 1990.  Following law school, he served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable David O. Belew, Jr., U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Texas, from 1988 to 1989.  Judge Pitman graduated from Abilene Christian University in 1985 and the University of Texas School of Law in 1988.

Sarah Ruth Saldaña:  Nominee for United States Attorney, Northern District of Texas
Sarah Saldaña has served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas since 2004, serving as Deputy Criminal Chief for Fraud and Public Corruption since 2009.   Ms. Saldaña was an attorney for Baker Botts, L.L.P, from 1987 to 1998, and Haynes Boone, from 1985 to 1987.  Following law school, she served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Barefoot Sanders, U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Texas, from 1984 to 1985.  Ms. Saldaña graduated from Texas A&M University in 1973 and from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1984.