The scion of a politically active (and Republican leaning) family in Northern New York, Elizabeth Coombe is looking to beat the clock in the Biden Presidency and join the federal bench.
Background
Born in 1967 in Ridgewood, New Jersey, the daughter of Richard Coombe, who would go on to serve a decade in the New York Assembly, and as Chairman of the Sullivan County Republican Party. Coombe received an A.B. from Hamilton College in 1989 and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1992. Coombe then clerked for Judge Diana Murphy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
After her clerkship, Coombe served as Staff Attorney for the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and then in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1998, Coombe joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. In 2003, she shifted to the Albany Office of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York. Since 2018, Coombe has served as First Assistant U.S. Attorney.
History of the Seat
Coombe has been nominated to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. This seat was vacated on September 1, 2024, when Judge Glenn Suddaby took senior status.
Legal Experience
Coombe started her legal career at the Securities and Exchange Commission, where she worked on an investigation of the National Association of Securities Dealers Inc. She then shifted to the Civil Division at the Department of Justice, where, among other matters, Coombe worked on employee retirement suits brought before the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Federal Circuit. See Dilworth v. Office of Personnel Management, 132 F.3d 713 (Fed. Cir. 1997).
Between 1998 and 2003, Coombe worked as a criminal AUSA in the District of Columbia. In this role, Coombe also argued appeals before the D.C. Court of Appeals (not to be confused with the D.C. Circuit). See, e.g., Mercer v. United States, 724 A.2d 1176 (D.C. 1999). Coombe also defended against 2255 motions, or motions to amend, vacate, or set aside sentences in federal court. See, e.g., Culter v. United States, 241 F. Supp. 2d 19 (D.D.C. 2003). In a notable case, she defended convictions against Rico McLaughlin for the shooting of a government informant. See United States v. McLaughlin, 164 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 1998).
Since 2003, Coombe has worked as a federal prosecutor in the Northern District of New York. Notably, while with the office, Coombe prosecuted New York Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno for corruption charges. See United States v. Bruno, 661 F.3d 733 (2d Cir. 2011). Bruno was initially convicted but the convictions were vacated after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Skilling limited the reach of the honest services fraud statute. Bruno was acquitted in a retrial.
Coombe also prosecuted Giridhar Sekhar for seeking to blackmail the New York State Comptroller into approving an investment into his company. See United States v. Sekhar, 683 F.3d 436 (2d Cir. 2012). After Sekhar was convicted at trial and the Second Circuit affirmed, the Supreme Court reversed, finding that one could not extort someone for a recommendation as it was not a piece of property under the Hobbes Act. See Sekhar v. United States, 570 U.S. 529 (2013).
Political Activity
Despite coming from a politically active family, Coombe’s own political activity is fairly limited. Other than volunteering on her father’s campaigns, Coombe’s sole contribution was to Rep. John Katko (R-NY) in 2014.
Overall Assessment
While Coombe was nominated relatively late in the Senate calendar, her hearing was relatively calm compared to her fellow nominee to the Northern District. Given Coombe’s Republican ties, it’s possible that she may be seen as a consensus candidate to reach the bench, compared to other nominees pending.
The Vetting Room 