Criticized for zealously defending a cop killer, President Barack Obama’s beleaguered nominee to lead to the Justice Department’s civil rights division has withdrawn his nomination.
The law firm of WilmerHale said Debo Adegbile has returned to private practice in its New York office. The White House confirmed that Mr. Adegbile withdrew his nomination.
The Senate blocked Mr. Adegbile’s nomination in March, with critics citing his representation of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted 30 years ago of murdering a Philadelphia police officer.
As the former head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Mr. Adegbile helped Abu-Jamal get his death sentence overturned.
Both of Pennsylvania’s senators, Democrat Robert P. Casey and Republican Patrick J. Toomey, voted against the nomination. Mr. Toomey called the nominee an “extremist, radical” Abu-Jamal defender.
Abu Jamal, a former Black Panther, was convicted of shooting to death Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner in December 1981.
In Congress, Mr. Adegbile has served as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
His withdrawal from consideration leaves the administration looking to find another candidate to head the civil-rights post, even as the Justice Department is conducting a wide-ranging civil-rights probe into the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, last month.
The division has been without a Senate-confirmed head since July 2013.
WilmerHale co-managing partner Robert Novick called Mr. Adegbile “an outstanding lawyer who has litigated and made strategic decisions at the highest levels.”
“His litigation skills, business acumen, and vast experience across a wide range of government-facing, commercial and appellate litigation will greatly benefit our clients,” he said.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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