Gregory Haanstad Named U.S Attorney

A familiar face is poised to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

On Monday, President Joe Biden nominated Gregory Haanstad to serve in that position, making him the top prosecutor for federal crimes in Milwaukee and the eastern half of the state.

Haanstad has worked in the district’s Milwaukee office since 2002, serving as the U.S. Attorney from 2016 to 2018 and acting U.S. Attorney from 2015 to 2016.

Haanstad, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, would replace Matthew D. Krueger, who resigned in February 2021 following the end of President Donald Trump‘s term.

Richard G. Frohling has served as acting U.S. Attorney since Krueger’s resignation. Frohling and Haanstad were two of five candidates forwarded to Biden by a bipartisan commission led by senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson. Other candidates included Milwaukee County District Attorney chief deputy Kent Lovern, assistant U.S. attorney and former special counsel to the director of the FBI Benjamin Taibleson and former prosecutor Susan Karaskiewicz.

Haanstad is a cum laude graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School (2000) and holds a bachelor of science degree from UW-La Crosse (1995). He served as a law clerk under federal judge William Callahan from 2000 to 2002.

The nominee has successfully prosecuted a number of cases in recent years including a wire fraud case against former Milwaukee County Register of Deeds John La Fave and multiple sex trafficking cases.

Sopen Shah, an attorney with Perkins Coie LLP, was nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin. She previously served as deputy solicitor general for the State of Wisconsin.

“The bipartisan Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission has delivered highly qualified nominees and I was proud to join Senator Johnson in recommending Gregory Haanstad and Sopen Shah for U.S. Attorney positions in Wisconsin,” said Baldwin in a statement. “I am thankful that President Biden has once again followed our recommendations, and those of the Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission, with these nominations. These Wisconsin nominees have the experience and qualifications necessary to serve as outstanding U.S. Attorneys and I am hopeful that the Senate will now consider and confirm these nominations with the support of both Wisconsin Senators, and without undue delay.”

U.S. attorneys report to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

“These individuals were chosen for their devotion to enforcing the law, their professionalism, their experience and credentials, their dedication to pursuing equal justice for all, and their commitment to the independence of the Department of Justice,” said the White House in a statement announcing five U.S. Attorney and two U.S. Marshal appointments.