President Biden nominates Vicksburg native for U.S. Attorney post

Published 10:24 am Saturday, September 3, 2022

President Biden has nominated a Vicksburg native to serve as a United States Attorney.

The White House announced Friday that Vicksburg native Todd Gee has been nominated to the position of U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi.

Gee has been the Deputy Chief of the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice since 2018, and was an assistant U.S. Attorney for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia from 2007 to 2015.

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Gee has worked in other roles in the departments of Justice and Homeland Security since earning his law degree from Tulane University in 2003. He graduated from George Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in 1999.

Gee’s appointment must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The Southern District of Mississippi is one of 94 federal judicial districts. It covers 45 counties in the southern half of the state, including Warren, Sharkey, Issaquena, Claiborne, Yazoo, Hinds, Madison and Rankin.

A U.S. Attorney serves as the chief federal criminal prosecutor in their district. They represent the federal government in civil litigation in federal and state court within their jurisdiction.

Gee was one of three nominees for Mississippi’s two Department of Justice districts announced by President Biden on Friday. Biden also nominated Michael Purnell for the position of U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Mississippi, and Dale Bell as U.S. Marshal for the Southern District.

Bell began his law enforcement career as a corrections deputy for the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department from 1995 to 1998, and is currently working for a private security service in Hernando.

Purnell has been the Lieutenant and Executive Officer of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol since 2020, and has been with MHP in a number of roles since 1996.