U.S. attorney choice advances

Gillibrand recommends Carla Freedman, 57, for upstate position

Now it’s official: Veteran prosecutor Carla Freedman is on track to be the region’s next U.S. attorney.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Wednesday recommended Freedman for the top position in the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District, based in Syracuse, where Freedman is now a supervisory prosecutor.

Freedman, 57, the chief of the office’s organized crime drug enforcement task force and the prosecutor who coordinates opioid cases, will — with confirmation by the U.S. Senate — become the first woman to permanently lead the district now led by acting U.S. Attorney Antoinette Bacon.

The district covers 32 upstate counties, including areas such as Binghamton, Syracuse, Kingston, the Adirondacks up to the Canadian border and the entire Capital Region.

The Times Union first reported Freedman’s then-pending nomination on Monday. On Sunday, the Times Union reported that a woman would be nominated for the first time to replace Bacon, a Republican whose departure was expected when former President Donald Trump left office.

On Wednesday, Gillibrand recommended Freedman, a Democrat, to be President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the district. Gillibrand noted Freedman, a career prosecutor, has more than 30 years of experience.

In a statement, Gillibrand praised Freedman as “an accomplished and passionate attorney who has dedicated her career to equal justice under the law.”

“Ms. Freedman is a brilliant legal leader, and a woman of outstanding character who can help restore public faith in our justice system in the NDNY,” Gillibrand continued. “I am proud to recommend her to the White House and look forward to her historic accomplishment as the first woman nominated

and confirmed to be U.S. Attorney for the Northern District.”

Freedman, a graduate of Syracuse University and New York Law School who became a lawyer in 1989, had already begun working for longtime Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau’s office a year earlier. Freedman, who remained in the Manhattan district attorney’s office until 2004, ran the gang unit in the office for about 10 years.

Freedman joined the U.S. attorney’s office in 2007. A Syracuse native, her father, Michael Freedman, chaired the anthropology department at Syracuse University and her mother, Paula Freedman, was the deputy director of the Onondaga County Youth Bureau in Syracuse, past news reports show.

The nomination of Freedman drew praise from both prosecutors and Lisa Peebles, the chief federal public defender in the Northern District.

“I think she uses good judgment, she has discretion and I’m really happy for her,” said Peebles, who has been in the public defender’s office for 22 years,the last 11 years as its chief. “I’ve had really good experiences working with Carla as an adversary.”

Peebles said she once approached Freedman— after the prosecutor brought an indictment against her client — with proof Freedman did not know about. She said Freedman reviewed what she sent over and dismissed the indictment.

“

I am proud to recommend her to the White House and look forward to her historic accomplishment as the first woman nominated and confirmed to be U.S. Attorney for the Northern District.”

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.

“I think that spoke volumes in my mind about her integrity and she’s about justice and doing the right thing,” she said.

U.S. Rep. John Katko, who as a federal prosecutor supervised Freedman when he ran the organized crime drug task force, lauded Freedman. Katko is a Republican, Freedman a Democrat.

“I witnessed firsthand her astounding work ethic, meticulous work product, and zeal for justice,” Katko said in a statement. “By any measure, Carla Freedman is a superb prosecutor who has a dogged determination to do the right thing, whatever that may be. She is exactly the type of leader that the Northern District of New York needs and I’m thrilled she is being nominated for this distinguished position.”

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, the top prosecutor in Syracuse since 1992, praised Freedman as “unequivocally a fantastic choice.” The longtime district attorney said he and Freedman have worked together on cases.

The tension that can arise between state and federal prosecutors was nonexistent with Freedman, Fitzpatrick explained.

“She sees the big picture and she was trained by the best,” Fitzpatrick said, referring to Morgenthau, a close friend of Fitzpatrick.

Retired Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney John Duncan, who was based in Syracuse for nearly four decades as a prosecutor, the best description of Freedman is that she is a hard worker.

“She’s very thorough, she knows the law and she’s a very competent and ethical prosecutor and so I’m pleased to see that she is going to get nominated,” Duncan, who retired in 2015, told the Times Union. “She’s very collegial. I think the people in the office will enjoy having her in that position.”

Bacon, the acting U.S, attorney since Sept. 2, can remain as an assistant if she chooses. Bacon succeeded U.S. Attorney Grant Jaquith, a Republican who replaced his Democratic predecessor, former U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian. Jaquith is now judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veteran Claims. Hartunian is in private practice.

Freedman’s recommendation drew praise from U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, the state’s other senator, who called her a “perfect fit” to lead the district.