The Trump administration on Wednesday officially announced nominees for two open U.S. attorney positions in Alabama, including one with a troubling past.
Trump nominated attorneys Thomas Govan, the current chief of criminal trials in the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, to become the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, and Phil Williams, a former state senator who dealt with ethics questions and a criminal investigation prior to leaving office, as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District. Both nominees face Senate confirmation hearings.
Govan is a longtime prosecutor who has worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Middle District and also served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force JAG Corps. He ran unsuccessfully for the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, despite having the backing of several prominent groups, including the Business Council of Alabama.
Williams’ background, however, is less straightforward.
An attorney, podcast host and former Army officer, Williams served two terms in the Alabama Senate, representing District 10 in northwest Alabama. In 2016, APR reported that Williams, whose law practice was small before his election, had obtained more than 40 consulting clients in the four years immediately following his election. Those contracts paid Williams as much as $265,000 per year, according to Williams’ annual Statement of Economic Interest.
Williams vehemently denied any wrongdoing. He also denied a later report from APR that he was the focus of a criminal investigation being carried out by both the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office.
However, during a deposition two years later, former Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley testified under oath that the investigation into Williams had been active and the former head of ALEA had briefed the governor on its progress.
Williams also alleged that the Alabama Ethics Commission, at his request, had reviewed his client list and law practice and found no wrongdoing.
Williams has never served as a prosecutor or an assistant prosecuting attorney in any capacity in any office at any level. He has worked as an attorney since 2009, handling primarily state-level civil litigation.
