John McKay (attorney)

American lawyer

John McKay

Personal details
Born|

John Larkin McKay

(1956-06-19) June 19, 1956 (age 67)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Education| University of Washington
Creighton University School of Law
Occupation| Lawyer; former United States Attorney; law professor

John Larkin McKay (born June 19, 1956) is a former United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington.

## Background[edit]

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McKay, a member of a prominent Republican family in the state, attended Seattle Preparatory School and the University of Washington, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1978. After working as an aide to Congressman Joel Pritchard (R-WA) in 1978–79, McKay earned his J.D. degree at Creighton University School of Law in Omaha, Nebraska in 1982.

He was admitted to the Washington State Bar and joined the Seattle law firm of Lane Powell Spears Lubersky in 1982, eventually becoming a litigation partner with that firm. He then joined Cairncross & Hempelmann in Seattle, leading its litigation group and serving as a member of its management committee.

He was admitted to practice before the United States District Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

## Career as U.S. Attorney and dismissal[edit]

Main article: Dismissal of U.S. attorneys scandal

Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy

Overview

Articles

* Timeline
* Summary of attorneys
* Congressional hearings
* List of dismissed attorneys
* All related articles

G. W. Bush administration

Officials involved

* Fred F. Fielding, White House Counsel
* William K. Kelley, Deputy White House Counsel
* William Moschella, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General
* Brett Tolman, U.S. Attorney, District of Utah, former counsel to Senate Judiciary Committee
* Mary Beth Buchanan, U.S. Attorney, Western District of Pennsylvania, former Director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys from 2004 to 2005

Officials who resigned

* Alberto Gonzales, United States Attorney General, former White House Counsel
* Kyle Sampson, Chief of Staff to the Attorney General
* Michael A. Battle, Director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys
* Michael Elston, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General
* Monica Goodling, Justice Department's liaison to the White House
* William W. Mercer, U.S. Attorney, Acting Associate Attorney General (retains position as U.S. Attorney in Montana)
* Sara Taylor, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Political Affairs
* Paul McNulty, Deputy Attorney General
* Harriet Miers, former White House Counsel (resigned prior to publicity surrounding the controversy, effective January 31, 2007)
* Karl Rove, White House Deputy Chief of Staff
* Bradley Schlozman, Director Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys; former Acting Assistant Attorney General for, and later Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; former interim U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri

Dismissed U.S. attorneys

List

* Daniel Bogden • Nevada
* Paul K. Charlton • Arizona
* Margaret Chiara • Western Michigan
* Bud Cummins • Eastern Arkansas
* Todd Graves • Western Missouri
* David Iglesias • New Mexico
* Carol Lam • Southern California
* John McKay • Western Washington
* Kevin V. Ryan • Northern California

U.S. Congress

U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary
110th Congress

* Patrick Leahy, Chair (D)
* Arlen Specter, Ranking member, former Chair (R)
* Chuck Schumer, Chair: Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts (D)

U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary
110th Congress

* John Conyers, Chair (D)
* Lamar Smith, Ranking member (R)
* Linda Sánchez, Chair: Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law (D)

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McKay was one of eight U.S. attorneys fired by the Bush administration in 2006 which were, after the fact, publicly described as being for performance-related issues related to "policy, priorities and management."[citation needed]

## Appointment as U.S. Attorney[edit]

McKay was appointed United States Attorney by President George W. Bush in October 2001. He had received a positive evaluation seven months before he was dismissed. Among his noteworthy achievements was the successful prosecution of terrorist Ahmed Ressam. Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey gave McKay the additional responsibility of overseeing a pilot program for a computer system (called Law Enforcement Information Exchange) for his success he earned the United States Navy's highest civilian honor.[1]

The Seattle Times noted in February 2007, "One of the most persistent rumors in Seattle legal circles is that the Justice Department forced McKay, a Republican, to resign to appease Washington State Republicans angry over the 2004 governor's race. Some believe McKay's dismissal was retribution for his failure to convene a federal grand jury to investigate allegations of voter fraud in the race."[2]

On March 17, 2007, the Seattle Times reported, "Former Republican congressman Rick White, one of three candidates the Republicans have submitted to replace John McKay as U.S. attorney for Western Washington, cannot practice law in the state. White's license was suspended by the state Supreme Court in August 2003 for failure to pay his bar dues. He was reinstated to the bar in 2005 after paying a small fee, but currently holds an 'inactive' status", which is common for attorneys that are not actively practicing law.[3]

In congressional testimony, Kyle Sampson, chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, testified that McKay may have been fired at least in part because of his advocacy for a more-aggressive investigation into the cold case murder of Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Wales of Seattle. In 2018, the FBI reported Wales's death was likely the result of a conspiracy that included a contract killer.[4] His pursuit of the case and subsequent firing were the subjects of an article by Jeffrey Toobin in the August 6, 2007 issue of The New Yorker. Toobin noted that Gonzales assured Wales's family that the investigation was still a top priority of the Justice Department.

## Post-U.S. Attorney career[edit]

On May 21, 2007, Getty Images announced that McKay would join the corporation as senior vice president and general counsel, based in its headquarters in Seattle.[5]

On September 17, 2007, Jonathan Klein, CEO of Getty Images, announced that McKay would be stepping down as general counsel to return to the law faculty at Seattle University where he would teach full-time. McKay was a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine in Seattle.[6] McKay left Davis Wright Tremaine in 2021.[citation needed]

During his career as a U.S. Attorney, McKay was the prosecutor of Canadian marijuana activist Marc Emery for marijuana seed distribution from Canada. Since that time, McKay has called for reform of marijuana laws such that its sale be legally regulated and taxed.[7]

## References[edit]

1. ^ David Bowermaster (February 7, 2007). "McKay got good review 7 months before ouster". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on May 16, 2007.
2. ^ David Bowermaster (February 16, 2007). "Was McKay ousted over 2004 election?". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on May 16, 2007.
3. ^ Mike Carter (March 17, 2007). "U.S. attorney candidate can't practice law". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on March 20, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
4. ^ Carter, Mike (February 20, 2018). "Seattle federal prosecutor Thomas Wales was possibly killed by hired gunman, FBI official says". Seattle Times. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
5. ^ John Cook (May 21, 2007). "Fired federal attorney to join Getty Images". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
6. ^ "John McKay - Professionals - Davis Wright Tremaine". Archived from the original on 2016-08-26.
7. ^ McKay, John (September 3, 2010). "Marijuana's true potency and why the law should change". Seattle Times. Retrieved September 6, 2010.

## External links[edit]

* Official biography, U.S. Attorney's Office
* Appearances on C-SPAN
* Biography from USA Western Washington Dist. website at the Wayback Machine (archived September 7, 2005)
* Train Wreck at the Justice Department: An Eyewitness Account

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