Brett Tolman

Early career

Tolman received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Brigham Young University in 1994, and his Juris Doctor degree cum laude from the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1998. Tolman clerked for U.S. District Chief Judge Dee Benson of the United States District Court for the District of Utah from 1998 to 2000.{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930191725/http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,640196822,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 30, 2007 four years as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Utah under U.S. Attorney Paul Warner. In 2003, he began work on the staff of U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Later, Tolman staffed for Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) after Specter became judiciary chairman. While working for Senators Hatch and Specter, Tolman was Counsel for Crime and Terrorism, which included work on drafting and negotiating passage of the USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization.

Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy

Main article: 2006 dismissal of U.S. attorneys

During Senate hearings on February 6, 2007, Senator Specter claimed that Tolman, on behalf of the United States Department of Justice, added a clause to the bill that eliminated the term limits for interim appointments of U.S. Attorneys by the Attorney General. The change in effect allowed the President to bypass the Senatorial approval process for those interim U.S. Attorneys appointed by the Attorney General. |url-status=dead This change in the law is at the center of the dismissal of U.S. Attorneys controversy.{{cite news

On March 20, 2007, the Senate voted 94–2 to reinstate the 120-day term limit on interim attorneys appointed by the Attorney General.

Appointment as U.S. Attorney

On January 25, 2006, U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah, Paul Warner, announced he would step down to become the newly created fourth U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Utah. (R-TN), Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Senate Judiciary Committee member Mike DeWine (R-OH). |url-status=dead Senator Hatch made a personal appeal to Attorney General Gonzales to drop his nomination of Kyle Sampson. On June 9, 2006, President Bush nominated Tolman to the Utah post, and on July 21, 2006, the Senate confirmed Tolman by voice vote.

In December 2009, Tolman resigned and joined the Salt Lake City law firm Ray Quinney & Nebeker. Until a replacement could be named by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate, Carlie Christensen, a career attorney with the office, has been named as Acting U.S. Attorney. In 2019, Tolman resigned from Ray Quinney & Nebeker to start his own firm, The Tolman Group. Brett Tolman founded The Tolman Group to focus on public policy and government reform. He has been featured on Fox News discussing current events.

Pardon lobbying in the Trump administration

On January 17, 2021, the New York Times published an article reporting that Tolman has "collect[ed] tens of thousands of dollars, and possibly more, in recent weeks to lobby the White House for clemency for the son of a former Arkansas senator; the founder of the notorious online drug marketplace Silk Road; and a Manhattan socialite who pleaded guilty in a fraud scheme". NBC News has similarly reported that Tolman was involved in the May 27, 2025 pardons of Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley, and had lobbied for clemency for Ross Ulbricht in Donald Trump's first term.

References

References

1. Office of the Clerk, US House, [http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll189.xml ''Final Vote Results for Roll Call 189''], March 26, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
2. /bss/d110query.html A bill to amend chapter 35 of title 28, United States Code, to preserve the independence of United States attorneys.] {{Webarchive. link. (January 13, 2016 (S.214 & H.R.580) ''THOMAS (Database),'' Library of Congress. Retrieved May 28, 2007. (Updated as activity occurs on the bill.))
3. Gearty, Robert. (August 13, 2019). "Prince Andrew's link to Jeffrey Epstein draws new scrutiny after suicide, document dump".
4. (August 25, 2019). "Are prominent Democrats getting rich off public service?".
5. (August 17, 2019). "Obama reportedly told Biden 'you don't have to do this' ahead of 2020 run".
6. (August 17, 2019). "Senate report finds Clinton emails sent to cryptic Gmail account".
7. (July 18, 2019). "Judge denies Jeffrey Epstein bail over fears of witness intimidation".
8. (September 12, 2018). "Elizabeth Smart prosecutor reacts to release of kidnapper".
9. (January 17, 2021). "Prospect of Pardons in Final Days Fuels Market to Buy Access to Trump". The New York Times.
10. Dixon, Matt. (May 31, 2025). "Trump pardons drive a big, burgeoning business for lobbyists". NBC News.