Defense Attorney Nominated for Crime Fighter

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday nominated James Cole, a defense lawyer who previously prosecuted public corruption cases, as deputy attorney general, the Justice Department's No. 2 job.

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If confirmed by the Senate, the 57-year-old Cole would play a key role in such issues as fighting financial crime and prosecuting terrorism suspects.

"James brings with him exceptional experience, both as a lawyer in private practice and as a government official with over a decade of service at the Department of Justice. The American people will be well served by his integrity and commitment to the law," Obama said in a statement.

David Ogden, Obama's first deputy attorney general, left the department in February. Justice Department officials have said Ogden had a rocky relationship with Attorney General Eric Holder.

Holder has long known Cole, who had been a Justice Department official for 13 years before entering private law practice in Washington.

At the Justice Department, Cole served his last four years as deputy chief of the public integrity section, the same unit where Holder once worked. Cole tried a number of high-profile cases, including prosecutions of a member of Congress and a federal judge.

Cole also served as special counsel for the House Ethics Committee in its 1997 investigation of Speaker New Gingrich. In private practice, he has represented a number of companies, executives and politicians.

Cole's appointment would be one of the expected changes in the top ranks of the Justice Department. Obama has nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by the upcoming retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens.

Patrick Leahy, Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement he hoped to expedite consideration of Cole's nomination.

(Reporting by James Vicini; Editing by Peter Cooney)