After a long waiting period, the Senate voted on Tuesday to confirm the appointments of a bloc of presidential nominations, most for open U.S. Attorney positions, including the recommendation of Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Harvey to lead the office for the Northern District of West Virginia.
The Senate voted 51-47 with two abstentions. Both West Virginia senators, Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice, voted in favor of the appointments. After the vote, which also confirmed her son, Moore Capito, to lead the office in the Southern District of the state, Capito released a statement applauding the move.
“West Virginians are fortunate to have two individuals of such high integrity and proven commitment to public service confirmed to serve as United States Attorneys,” she wrote. “Both Matt Harvey and Moore Capito bring strong legal experience and a steadfast dedication to upholding the law and keeping our communities safe. As U.S. Attorneys, they will play a critical role in advancing justice, supporting law enforcement and protecting the people of our great state. I was proud to vote to confirm both of them, and I look forward to working together to continue strengthening our state and advancing President Trump’s commitment to law and order.”
Harvey was nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the Northern District's office in July, but slow processes within the Senate ground the confirmation process to a snail’s pace. Now confirmed, he's to be sworn into office in Berkeley County in the coming days.
“I’m absolutely excited. This is a new challenge, and it’s in a field and profession that I love,” Harvey said. “Prosecuting and serving citizens of West Virginia and expanding capacity. It’s sad on one hand because I’m leaving an office that I’ve been in for over eight years, but I leave it in a really good place.
“The last couple of days, I’ve really reflected on that. It’s easy to walk away when there are good people there to take care of that office. I feel a sense of responsibility to it and to the citizens of Jefferson County, but I’m not walking away, I’m just changing my role.”
Harvey plans on remaining in the area as much as possible and working out of the Martinsburg office, but his duties will move him around to the other offices around the district in Wheeling, Clarksburg and Elkins.
And, in a time when some U.S. Attorneys are being scrutinized for their work — as well as that party-line vote on Tuesday afternoon — the work within the northern district has been, relatively, executed without issue; all accomplished while becoming one of the most active offices in the country.
According to data reported by the Wheeling Intelligencer in February, the Northern District's office was ranked No. 1 in the country in drug prosecution, which included “dismantling” a fentanyl trafficking organization in Baltimore, while also taking down a Philadelphia-based drug system and a group in Martinsburg with alleged ties to the Sinaloa Drug Cartel.
The office also focused on healthcare fraud, domestic violence, white collar crimes and COVID-19 fraud, according to the report. These initiatives mirror some of the work done by Harvey in Jefferson County since taking office in 2017, which includes combating violent crime; expanding victim advocacy services that increased support and resources; developing a drug crisis response system with local law enforcement, treatment providers and community groups to combat the opioid epidemic; and leading outreach initiatives to increase public trust.
As for his predecessor, Harvey commended the work of former U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld and said that he’s looking forward to continuing it by acquiring the necessary resources while bringing his unique background to the job.
“I don’t know what they haven’t seen, but … I have, once before, gone into a new prosecutor’s office and gotten a lay of the land, assessed the staff and figured out the needs and resources we had, and how we could merge those together to make the community as safe as possible and seek justice," he said. “It’s not unfamiliar to me. It’s not the same, but it’s not unfamiliar.
"It’s such a unique experience assuming the role as the head prosecutor of an office, that I think the frame of mind will be better than when it was in 2017 when I came into Jefferson County.”
He was also quick to admit he made mistakes when in the county prosecutor role — “I got some things right and some things wrong,” he said — but believes he’s grown and learned from them. And when asked what success would look like after his first four-year term in federal office, he said it would depend on the strength of those around him.
“By that, it's recruit and retain top talent, use the top talent that’s already there, and get them the resources they need to operate at that high level,” he said. “It’s simple, man. If you’ve got resources, let them run. I’ve just got to be the trainer and do what I can to support them.”
Overall, Harvey has been on a roller coaster of emotions for three months since his initial nomination, but at each peak, like the one he’s on now, has been the same feeling: excitement.
“It’s been up and down, up and down, I get excited and thought it was going to happen, then it doesn’t happen that week,” he said, laughing. “It’s a mix of emotions, and that’s a stock answer, but I’m really excited. It’s humbling. I’m so grateful, and I’ve been feeling an immense amount of gratefulness for this opportunity.
“That’s what I’ve been focusing on. And the weight of the position, it’s exciting. The seriousness of it and the types of cases this office is going to be addressing … I want to have the appropriate mindset. I know I’m going to have to deal with a lot of terrible things that are happening to good people, so I don’t want to be inappropriate in my exuberance, but the chance to serve in a greater capacity is pretty cool.”
Balancing those emotions with the weight of the job, however, shows Harvey is the right person for the job.
“I’ve done this for about 20 years in some form or fashion,” he said. “I absolutely think I’m right for this job.”
