Thomas B. Heffelfinger
{{Short description|American lawyer (born 1948)}}
Thomas B. Heffelfinger (born 1948) is an attorney in private practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota from 1991 to 1993 and from 2001 to 2006. He served as assistant U.S. Attorney from 1982 to 1988 and assistant Hennepin County Attorney from 1976 to 1982.{{cite news
| first= John
| last= Vomhof Jr.
| title= Best & Flanagan hires former U.S. Attorney
| date=June 5, 2006
| publisher= Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
| url = http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2006/06/05/daily7.html
| access-date = 2007-06-03
}}
Early life
Heffelfinger received his B.A. from Stanford University in 1970, and his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1975.
U.S. Attorney
=Indian Affairs=
Investigation of the shooting deaths of 10 people at a school at the Red Lake Indian Reservation on March 21, 2005, absorbed much of his time in the subsequent 11 months.{{cite web| title =U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger resigns| publisher =Minnesota Public Radio| date =2006-02-14| url =http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/02/14/heffelfinger/| access-date = 2007-06-04}}
=Dismissal of U.S. Attorneys controversy=
{{see also|2006 dismissal of U.S. attorneys}}
{{2006 dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy small}}
Heffelfinger resigned on February 28, 2006, for personal reasons, and he was replaced by Rachel Paulose.
{{cite news
| first = Ruben
| last = Rosario
| date = 2007-04-07
| title = Prosecutor's office loses its way
| work = Pioneer Press
| publisher = Media News Group Inc.
| url = http://www.twincities.com/searchresults/ci_5616132
| access-date = 2007-06-03 }}
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that it was unusual that "the former U.S. attorney for Minnesota, Thomas Heffelfinger, was not invited" to Paulose's swearing-in ceremony. Paulose's spokesperson, Jeanne Cooney, said, "It was a public event. Anybody who wanted to go could have gone."
{{cite news
| first = Nick
| last = Coleman
| date = 2007-03-31
| title = Nick Coleman: If Heffelfinger hadn't quit, would he have been purged?
| publisher = Star Tribune Company
| work = Star Tribune (Minneapolis - Saint Paul)
| url = http://www.startribune.com/357/story/1092041.html
| access-date = 2007-06-04 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070607222140/http://www.startribune.com/357/story/1092041.html |archive-date = 2007-06-07}}
The article speculates that Heffelfinger, a moderate Republican, could have been a candidate for dismissal had he not stepped aside to make way for a more conservative candidate.
Heffelfinger was angry at the Department of Justice for targeting him for dismissal[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/transcripts/goodling_testimony_052307.html] Monica Goodling Testimony to Congress because of his preoccupation with Indian affairs issues.{{cite news
|first = Eric
|last = Black
|title = Heffelfinger slams Justice Department
|date = June 1, 2007
|publisher = Star Tribune Company
|url = http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1204940.html
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070526221034/http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1204940.html
|url-status = dead
|archive-date = May 26, 2007
|work = Star Tribune (Minneapolis - Saint Paul)
|access-date = 2007-06-02
}} Heffelfinger strongly defended that work: "The fact that some allegedly responsible official or officials in Washington at main Justice now believe that I should have been removed for spending too much time focused on the public safety of Native Americans is outrageous, and it's shameful."{{cite news
| first= Emily
| last= Gurnon
| title= Minnesota U.S. Attorney Firings / Heffelfinger defends work
| date= May 24, 2007
| publisher= Media News Group Inc.
| url = http://www.twincities.com/searchresults/ci_5980877
| work = Pioneer Press
| access-date = 2007-06-03
}}
Circumstantial evidence suggests that Heffelfinger was targeted for dismissal as a consequence of his positions on tribal voting in Minnesota.{{cite news
|title = Justice undone? Some say U.S. attorney targeted for protecting American Indian votes
|author = Tom Hamburger
|work = Los Angeles Times
|date = May 31, 2007
|url = http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070531/REPOSITORY/705310377/1013/NEWS03
}}{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }} Heffelfinger's appearance on potential dismissal lists at the Department of Justice apparently fits a pattern associating the dismissed attorneys and voting issues.{{cite news
| first= Tom
| last= Hamburger
| title= Minnesota case fits the pattern in flap over firing of U.S. attorneys: A prosecutor apparently targeted for firing had supported Native American voters' rights
| date=May 31, 2007
| url = http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/31/1583/
| work = Los Angeles Times
| access-date = 2007-06-03
}} The names of Bradley Schlozman and Hans A. von Spakovsky also appear in this case; Schlozman was a central figure in a voting and elections controversy in Missouri.
Private practice
Opposition to President Donald Trump
In October 2020, Heffelfinger signed a letter, along with 19 other Republican-appointed former U.S. Attorneys, calling President Donald Trump "a threat to the rule of law in our country" and endorsing Joe Biden.{{cite news |last1=Hamburger |first1=Tom |last2=Barrett |first2=Devlin |title=Former U.S. attorneys — all Republicans — back Biden, saying Trump threatens 'the rule of law' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republican-us-attorneys-back-biden/2020/10/27/c1b55702-17fd-11eb-befb-8864259bd2d8_story.html |access-date=27 October 2020 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=October 27, 2020}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.bestlaw.com/Professionals/Thomas-Heffelfinger Heffelfinger's biography at Best and Flanagan.]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heffelfinger, Thomas B.}}
Category:Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy
Category:University of Minnesota Law School alumni
Category:Stanford University alumni
Category:United States attorneys for the District of Minnesota