White House makes it official: Ga. prosecutor to be nominated for federal post

ATLANTA (AP) -- President Barack Obama has announced plans to nominate a Georgia prosecutor as the next Deputy Attorney General.<br /> <br /> In a statement Monday, White House officials said Obama is looking to nominate U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates to the position. White House officials say Yates would succeed Deputy Attorney Gen. James M. Cole.<br /> <br /> Yates has served as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia since 2010. In a statement, Attorney Gen. Eric Holder said he considers Yates a leader among federal prosecutors and praised the way Yates has handled high profile and complicated cases.<br /> <br /> Among other noteworthy trials, Holder says Yates successfully prosecuted Eric Rudolph in the bombing of Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 summer Olympics.<br /> <br /> Yates earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Georgia.<br /> <br /> Word of the pending move on the part of the White House first surfaced Sunday.