CO Pot Policy: New U.S. Attorney Pick Jason Dunn May Make Changes

DENVER, CO – President Donald Trump has nominated former Colorado Deputy Attorney General Jason R. Dunn to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado.

Dunn, 47, is currently a shareholder at Denver firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, where he chairs the firm’s Political and Regulatory Law Practice Group and its State Attorneys General Practice Group, the White House said in a press statement.

As the announcement was released, political watchers wondered whether a new Colorado U.S. Attorney would side with Department of Justice Chief Jeff Sessions's views on the legalized pot industry.

"It’s unknown whether Dunn might take a more aggressive approach to enforcing federal law banning pot or continue his predecessors’ mostly hands-off approach to Colorado’s legalized marijuana industry," reporter Ernest Luning wrote on Colorado Politics.

Once confirmed by the U.S. Senate Dunn would replace Interim U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer, an Obama appointee who has been serving temporarily after Sessions fired a gaggle of U.S. Attorneys around the country.

In January, Sessions' Justice Department rescinded the "Cole Memo," an Obama-era directive that said even though marijuana was illegal on the federal level, U.S. Attorneys should refrain from prosecutions in states where pot was legal.

Troyer said in January that his Denver office would maintain an unchanged stance toward legal marijuana, regardless of Sessions's decision. Troyer's office has aggresively prosecuted several illegal marijuana cases, including sending an Arvada marijuana entrepreneur to federal prison for repeatedly sending marijuana through the U.S. Mail.

A spokesperson for the cannabis industry said Dunn was a good choice.

“With a background in political, constitutional and regulatory law, Jason is an encouraging candidate to take over as U.S. Attorney in the legal marijuana state of Colorado,” Peter Marcus, spokesman for Boulder-based Terrapin Station, told the Denver Post. “Jason has watched the successful implementation of an adult-use marijuana regulatory system in Colorado, so he understands what it takes to work with the cannabis industry to ensure continued success.”

U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R), who has opposed a federal crackdown on legal marijuana and supported the industry, praised Dunn in a statement:

“I’ve known Jason for many years, and I am confident that he will make an excellent United States Attorney for the District of Colorado. Jason has a proven record of public service and involvement in his community, and he has the integrity and character that will make Colorado proud. I will urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support his confirmation.”

Dunn's name was among those put forward by controversial New York GOP donor Elliott Broidy, emails obtained by ProPublica through the Freedom of Information Act showed. Broidy was convicted in 2009 for his role in a major New York state public corruption and bribery case, but Sessions asked him for recommendations shortly after being nominated for U.S. Attorney General in November, 2016.

Dunn previously served as Deputy Attorney General under Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, the White House said. Dunn is a native of Colorado, and earned his B.S., M.P.A., and J.D. from the University of Colorado. Following law school, Dunn clerked for Justice (now Chief Justice) Nathan Coats of the Colorado Supreme Court.

Image: Jason Dunn via Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP