White House confirms “Johnson Dynasty” building. Brendan Johnson named to US Atty post
The White House confirmed today that it’s building a family dynasty for one of South Dakota’s Democratic politicians.
The White House has nominated Brendan Johnson, the son of U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson, to serve as U.S. Attorney for South Dakota.
and…
The senior congressional delegation member of the president’s political party typically puts forth a name for consideration.
The younger Johnson said because his family connection removed that usual link, he sought the support of South Dakotans of both political parties and sent the application directly to the new administration.
Bad show, Tim and Brendan Johnson. I’ve said it before, if Senator Johnson’s son – while very likely qualified – is named as the U.S. Attorney, no matter how they try to game the system to avoid it, it is impossible to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Unless we now have adopted the monarchy that our forefathers eschewed so long ago, and endorse the naked building of political dynasties. Because that’s the only way this can be justified.
Otherwise, the naming of Brendan Johnson as U.S. Attorney in the same state his father holds the position of U.S. Senator is improper. No matter how much Senator Johnson’s son wants the job, no matter how much he might be qualified, the honorable thing to do is to take a pass until his dad is no longer U.S. Senator.
But that just didn’t happen. Did it?
For shame.
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Comments
Brendan is a tool! Well obviously the dem plan is coming together. Herseth waits for Tim to resign and then takes the spot or defeats the appointed by Republican Governor and Brendan sets up for the House race in 2014.
I have a question how does it ad up if he plans to run for a political office in the future against these guys?
Dusty Johnson
Jarrod Johnson
Brendan Johnson
Tim Johnson
We need a broader name range in SD. This could end up being annoying!
The biggest political dynasty in recent history is the Bush one. George H. W. Bush and that overachieving son of his, George W. Bush. Don’t forget What’s His Name Bush the former Governor of Florida. I wonder if the progeny would have ever gotten elected if it hadn’t been for dear old Dad? For that matter would H.W. have ever gotten where he did if his Daddy, Prescott Bush, hadn’t been a US Senator from Connecticut?
For shame.
Hmmmm, Friday night?
Before the patronizing democratic brownnosers start, I want to set the record straight. First, I am a former democratic elected official (still a democrat) and a rabid defender of all things Daschle, Johnson and Herseth-Sandlin. Yet this is bald patr(iarchal)onage play changes that.
First, Brendan’s a good attorney. That doesn’t make him a prosecutor worthy of respect of career prosecutors who will serve under him.
Second, Brendan’s short stint in the Minnehaha County Prosecutor’s office isn’t qualification no matter what Nellie says. To those who say it did, provide the case in which Brendan optained a conviction by jury trial and the class (felony A,B,C,1,2,3,etc or misdemeanor 1 or 2) of the most severe convicted crime. (The actual sentence is irrelevant because it is up to the judge).
Third, and most important, are there no other attorneys who have done their time, served the parties interest, and have an interest in attempting to advance by carrying the parties’ flag? Are there no other prosecutors in the party who have done the real hard work and look to move forward for the benefit of the party?
To both of the above questions, the answer is yes, and they have served Senator Johnson’s interest. And they applied for the position. This appointment is a farce and good loyal servants got the shaft, a payoff, or were intimidated into silence. Shame on you Senator Johnson. If my father told me I really shouldn’t do something because of fairness and appearance, I took it to heart. Either Brendan doesn’t, or you didn’t.
Now I know some of you may call me out and ask for names, etc. I won’t because I remain loyal to the principles of the democratic party and those 60 seats are really neat; I just lost all respect for Team Johnson. But any investigative individual should be able to find out what a farce this appointment is.
Tell me, are any of you even a little bit surprised by this? Everyone knew Brendon was going to get the appointment to reward his father for supporting Obama.
Nepotism? You betcha!!
I’m glad that the only attack against Brandon Johnson is the fact that his father is a sitting 3-time United States Senator.
Nobody can say he’s not qualified, nobody can give the name of somebody he leapfrogged over to get the job, nobody can name one thing Senator Johnson did to get his son the job…
In short, nobody can say nothin’ against Brandon Johnson & his ability to serve as a US Attorney, just whining cuz his last name starts with a ‘J’ & ends with ‘ohnson’.
Nick weren’t all the Bush’s elected? Isn’t Brandon a appointment? Big difference. I really don’t care as the Dem won and can pick who they want.
We are expected to believe there is not one other Dem lawyer in the entire state of SD who is qualified and available for this position???
I’ve got my protest banner ready to go for Mount Rushmore: “Hey, Brendan Johnson: Prosecute this!”
Oldguy, all those Bushes were elected, but you missed my point. I’ll spell it out for you. Would they have gotten where they did if the skids hadn’t been greased for them by the generation that came before? Inside connections are hard to beat.
I waited until this morning to check the fishing lines and see how many carps, aka whiny cry baby Republicans, unleashed their cheap shots against Brendan Johnson’s nomination overnight. The only shock was that only, perhaps, six carps snagged themselves on SDWC to vent their stupidity. Big whoop.
I’ve known Brendan since he was president of the student association at University of South Dakota. The buzz about Brendan back then had less to do about who his daddy was than how charismatic, bright, articulate and talented this college student was. Even back then, the political column whimsy (sorry, this was pre-blog South Dakota) compared the rising talent of new generation leaders like Brendan, Mark Mickelson, Russ Janklow and Stephanie Herseth.
Roll forward to 2009 and we see Brendan has found his niche in public service as a prosecutor in Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Dave Nelson’s office, and then making a mark in private practice working with Steve Johnson, Scott Heidepriem, Scott Abdullah and Russ Janklow. He pursued the nomination and got it based on his great talent, his experience and his undisputed commitment to public service.
People who get this job don’t do it for the money. Duh. If an attorney as good as Brendan wanted to be wealthy, he’d stay right where he is or go to one of the other high-powered, highly political, wealthy firms (Dave Knudson’s firm comes to mind). He views his niche in life as an effective public servant in representing the government in court, and this is a natural selection.
Enough time wasted here explaining the obvious to some contributors who just want to whine, carp and assassinate the character of good people. Brendan is a great selection for this post and the public is well served here.
Lets get off our high horses. I’d like the naysayers to name one single US Attorney for the District of South Dakota whose appointment was devoid of political connections. Being the “best person for the job” has absolutely never been the linchpin for this appointment. Brendan Johnson is a solid, smart guy who may have the good fortune of genetics; but he’s also got the skills and acumen to do this job well.
Please review Brendan’s resume on the firms website. He is the 112th most qualified democratic lawyer in Sioux Falls for the position. He’s practiced for only a few years, was in Dave Nelson’s office for a cup of coffee and doesn’t have nearly the experience necessary for the position…unless of course the position is in need of just a figure head.
I agree that Brendan Johnson is not qualified; however, neither was Marty Jackley. Neither of these guys had much executive prosecutorial decision making. Neither had prosecuted many (if any) criminal jury trials. And neither had any experience prosecuting indian country criminal cases, which is at least 75% of the federal prosecutor’s responsibility in South Dakota.
Yes, it a joke, but it is not the first bad joke.
What is most scary about Brendan Johnson being US Attorney is that he is more interested in running for higher political office in the future than actually being the US Attorney. I’ve known Brendan since he was is college and everything he does is part of his master plan to get elected to statewide office. He is just using this position as a hopeful springboard to elected office. Get ready for the press releases and political grandstanding. While we rarely saw Jackley in the press, I expect the liberal press machine will be promoting B. Johnson extensively.
I don’t care who he’s related to – it makes no difference if he the Senator’s son or the nephew of the local dogcatcher. The fact remains that he is not qualified. Sure, get the job because of your connections – that’s life – but he has to have some experience and qualifications to back it up. He’s inexperienced, bottom line. If he had been state’s attorney for Minnehaha County or at least a deputy U.S. Attorney for awhile, I might see it differently – but he wasn’t. He was just another D.S.A.
At least Obama will be out in a couple of years and then so will this kid. The situation is really dirty – makes ya wanna just gag a little. ya know? icky.
I tell you, all the wingnuts were at coffee today. It was just crazy! A couple of guys were complaining about Johnson’s kid getting a job in government. Then the rest of the coffee crew jumped all over these two complainers….ranting and raving about Mike Rounds and nepotism or something like that! They were making crazy statements about so many of the governor’s family and extended family or his cabinet members families working for the state. There was even a stupid statement made about some distilling laws getting changed so Mike’s brothers could make wine or whiskey or something like that! And then it was said that the honorable thing for all these extended family members to do is to take a pass until Mike Rounds is no longer Governor. Wow! These wingnuts were sure off the wall today! Heck, I couldn’t even enjoy my coffee!
Why I am shocked, just shocked that anyone would even think that nepotism goes on in local, State or U.S. Government. Well, maybe with those liberal democrats….but we Republicans ARE the Party of High Moral Standards and those things just don’t happen in our Party!
Fishing-Your right about the Rounds clown family. But like I tell my kids, two wrongs dont make it right. I like Brendon and he’s a good attorney, but call a spade a spade. Just admit it and say what it is and they won, they have the right. It just doesnt make it right. This is not the land of kings, knights and peasants. NON ELECTED POSITION!
That politicians on both sides of the aisle have, and will continue, to use personal / family connections for political advancement is no surprise.
We reserve the right to criticize and discourage the practice, regardless of who’s doing it.
Bush, Kennedy, Dodd, Rounds, Jackson, Daley etc., the list is long and is not IMHO an indicator of political health.
Ok, help me out on this one.
Is it against the law to use political or ideological affiliations in selecting a U.S. Attorney or hiring someone for DOJ? Or is it OK because U.S. Attorneys and others are political appointees?.
9:37. you are absolutely wrong about Jackley. How about getting some facts before making a statement like that. I don’t know the guy personally but I do know he had experience with Rez stuff, which is a good part of the US Atty’s work in SD.
If this Brendon fellow’s daddy were an effective legislator, I’d probably not care. But his daddy is an absent senator. A walking ghost. I wonder if he held his seat, seatbelted to it or not, only to get Jr. a job.
If putting Brenden in as US Attorney will be enough to get his dear old dad to stop supporting bankers and health insurance executives huge salaries, I’m all for it.
Let’s get to single payer system and get rid of the needless insurance middlemen who have been milking the system and doing not much more than making it expensive and limiting access.
Look at the bright side of this. Maybe Tim will get his head out of the nether regions and start voting like a real Democrat instead of a puppet of the richest businesses in South Dakota.
Grudznick, while you certainly are entitled to your opinion, however wrong it may be, I ask you to do some fact checking before you just go and rip somebody such as our US Senator Tim Johnson, who just like both John Thune and Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, works tirelessly to whatever he can to help South Dakota and South Dakotans. In addition, you probably call him absent because you don’t see nearly as much media coverage of him as you do of JT and SH (which is expected as he isn’t up for re-election like the others) but really is the media going to want to cover him? Finally, through his position on the appropriations committee, Senator Johnson brings more money into South Dakota projects than do both John and Stephanie, so before you rip the good senator as absent and ineffective, I ask you to do some fact checking.
Let me get this right Nick. You are saying the only reson either of the Bush sons were elected to anything was because of there dad. Come on.. Any person that get elected to anything needs help from the “inside”
Todd’s right over at Middle Border Sun. This is not nepotism. Brandon must be confirmed by the Senate. Any one who’s been confirmed by the Senate knows that is not an easy hurdle. Senator Johnson will recuse himself from the proceedings. Brandon will work for the Attorney General, and the President – not for Senator Johnson. No one thought it improper when a son of the Senator was in the military – soldier Johnson wasn’t working for the Senator, either.
The position requires that one have a broad background of experiences in criminal and civil law. The US Attorney, similar to the SD AG, has to coordinate, lead and manage multiple cases, offices, entities, coordinate replies to the political masters, etc. If the leader is trying cases – then no one is allocating resources, managing case work, offices, personnel, etc. In a tiny office, one can do both try cases and manage; but when the office covers legal services for 800,000 the leader must transition to a broader, generalist, resource allocator leadership style. Brandon will do a fine job and is qualified as the incumbent or of any – given the handicap of a legal education.
Tim Johnson should just step up and give credit where credit is due! Some of you say: “Brendan’s a good attorney. That doesn’t make him a prosecutor worthy of respect of career prosecutors who will serve under him. Brendan’s short stint in the Minnehaha County Prosecutor’s office isn’t qualification provide the case in which Brendan obtained a conviction by jury trial.. are there no other attorneys who have done their time, served the parties interest, and have an interest in attempting to advance by carrying the parties’ flag? Feel really sorry for the existing US attorney crew who will have to take orders from a guy who’s probably younger than their offspring. This appointment is a farce and good loyal servants got the shaft. The fact remains that he is not qualified”
I totally agree that Johnson’s kid is not qualified enough or is too young. We Republicans can truthfully say this because we ARE EXPERTS in this area. Any of you remember Monica Goodling? Do an internet search and you will find: Graduated from Pat Robertson’s evangelical Regent University Law School; the year Goodling graduate was the first year Regent U. became accredited. the year Goodling graduated from Regent U., roughly 60% of all its graduating law school students failed the bar exam — reputedly among the worst failure rates ever recorded; upon graduating from Regent U., Goodling found work in the Republican Nat. Committee during the campaign to elect Bush in 2000; after Bush was sworn in as president in 2001, Goodling was offered a job in the DOJ press office; Less than one year later, she was assigned to the Attorney General’s office where she served as a the 3rd highest Justice Department official in the country, directly beneath John Ashcroft (later Alberto Gonzales); Prior to this time, she had never worked as a lawyer, much less as a prosecutor, either at the state or federal level; it does not appear that she ever clerked or interned in any capacity as a lawyer while in law school or thereafter; She was 31 years old at the time; At the time of her testimony before Congress, the Bush Administration had hired/appointed no fewer than 150 Regent U. graduates. This hiring spree was spear-headed by Office of Personnel Management (OPM) director, Kay Cole James. Prior to becoming Bush’s director of the OPM, Kay Cole James was (surprise!) the Dean of Regent U. government school.
Yes, we Republicans have an 8 year history of placing negative values on competence. So Senator Tim Johnson owes a debt of gratitude if his under qualified son is selected as U.S. Attorney. We blazed the way in “incompetent” hiring and Senator Johnson is taking advantage of our accomplishments. He needs to give credit where credit is due! I would expect nothing less of Senator Johnson!
This was a given. It’s what happens when people elect a senator based on being a nice guy, and based on a campaign of pity and “no campaigning” and no criticism allowed, and people fell for it. Politics as usual.
“sitting ghost. my bad.”
I believe everything you write is bad so please include the phrase ‘my bad’ after all your future posts.
Mini Johnson’s appointment is a joke. Appointing a guy with less than 8 years experience, most of it irrelevant is a complete farce and this state deserves him along with his absentee father. Appointment of that green horn to US Attorney all the while his law firm is representing a tribe against the state is a typical irony that SD seems to tolerate. More importantly, I’m old enough to remember when the US Attorney position was highly regarded and actually served a legitimate purpose. His nomination further erodes the perception and value of the position. It also ocurred to me that Johnson, Heidepriem’s law firms value is also decreasing in the sense that the firm used to be highly regarded and tough, if not impossible to get into. Now, all you need is a sheepskin on the wall, a used car salesman smile, a phone call from Dad and poof, you’re a named partner, all after about 6 years of private practice. I can’t wait to hear stories about Mini-Johnson attempting to bark orders or give presentations to US attorneys who have 20-30 years experience on that little neophyte. Simply rediculous; but in this state, the land of infinite brain goo, not totally unexpected.
Charades like this is why the people are so cynical about politics, government and politicians. Senator Johnson should have had the honesty to say, “I proudly submit my son to be US Attorney.”
The idea that he “removed” himself is a joke. Anybody who knows how these nominations works knows it. Senator Johnson neither served himself, his son, nor the people of South Dakota by this charade. This is what is shameful.
I think I can confirm after watching Inside Kelo Land last night that the 2014 congressional election will be Kristi Noem vs Brendan Johnson!
I think Brendan being the Dems only option and his last name being Johnson really hurts Dusty and Jarrod.
Besides I think Kristi Noem would be far more exciting.
i realize the posts on marty jackley were largely irrelevant, but hey, they were also enjoyable. Fact is, jackley was a prosecutor for some years PRIOR to US Attorney. I assume that experience had at least some small impact on his confirmation by the US Senate as US Atty. (He handled Rapid City drug cases for the AG office for a number of years.) That service may also have been one factor in his recent selection as Prosecutor of the Year by the states attorneys association. Bear in mind that the states attorneys association is comprised of both Dems and Repubs.
Ok. I guess Johnson has also prosecuted a few drug cases at the Minnehaha State’s Attorney’s office. The questions still remain: 1. how many criminal jury trials? and 2. how many criminal jury trials from indian country? We are talking about qualifications at the time of appointment, right? We aren’t talking about how well the career attorneys buttress the political appointees.
Johnson is who he is because of his last name. Any office or position he holds will bring speculation that he is running.
If he was AG he would have 10 times the name id that Larry Long has. It’s just a plus of being a senators son.
To old guy on July 11:
Um, no, Dubya was not elected. He was appointed by the Supreme Court with Daddy’s nominees and brother Jeb’s blessing from Florida. Don’t even attempt to say the GOP avoids all hints of impropriety. Puh-leaze.
Johnson may have just as much criminal jury trial prosecutorial experience as Marty Jackley. He may be eminently qualified! I doubt either of them had one indian country criminal jury trial prosecution prior to nomination.
Bad show, Brendan. Now you’ll always be seen as the spoiled son of a senator who got what he wanted because of who his daddy is. I thought you were better than that.