In 2007 then US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales fired Nevada attorney Daniel Bogden from the DOJ saying that there were concerns about Bogden’s commitment to pursuing obscenity cases and his “level of energy.”

Bogden denied that he was reticent to pursue those cases. Makes you wonder, now, in light of the recent debate on the Barry Goldman obscenity case’s change of venue whether Obama’s putting together a new obscenity team made up of all Bush standbys?:

from www.chattahbox.com- One of four picks for U.S. attorney posts the White House announced Friday, is actually getting a second chance at the job. Daniel G. Bogden, was one of the nine former U.S. attorneys whose alleged politically motivated firing by the Bush administration in 2007, eventually lead to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

At the time, the Justice Department cited “performance” problems as the reason for the nine ousters, although Bogden and most of the others had positive performance evaluations. Bogden was criticized for not having brought enough porn and obscenity prosecutions, but regarded as a top-notch prosecutor according to former Bush Deputy Attorney General Jim Comey, who testified at a Capitol Hill hearing in 2007.

President Obama announced Friday that he was nominating Bogden again as U.S. attorney for Nevada. Bogden, a former Air Force judge advocate general and county prosecutor, with more than 16 years of experience, was first appointed as a U.S. attorney by President George W. Bush in 2001.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said he thought Bogden’s firing was unfair, and he urged the Obama administration for many months to give Bogden his job back. A special prosecutor appointed by former Attorney General Michael Mukasey is still investigating whether any former Bush administration officials broke the law. And this week Karl Rove, Bush’s top political adviser, concluded two days of closed-door testimony before the House Judiciary Committee about the firings.