The highest-ranking official present was the director of the executive office of United States Attorneys, a mid-level official who coördinates administrative support for federal prosecutors.
But a prodigious fund-raising effort--used in part to bankroll a series of clever late-campaign television commercials lampooning Pappas's enthusiastic support for Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr's investigation of President Clinton--helped propel Holt to victory.
As an Illinois state senator, he won the support of prosecutors and police organizations for new protections against convicting the innocent in capital cases.
Mr. Bravin may also overstate the option of charging Guantánamo detainees in civilian courts under the "material support for terrorism" statute; prosecutors have concluded that the law probably did not cover conduct before October 2001, when Congress amended it to expressly cover actions by non-Americans abroad.
Mr. Freeh was popular with Republicans on Capitol Hill because of his support for a special prosecutor to look into allegations of fund-raising improprieties at the Clinton White House.
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro has expressed support for the public prosecutor's actions against Mr Esquivel even as he has raised concerns about the role of the US in the larger investigation and called for former Argentine player Diego Maradona to be be made Fifa president.
"There is overwhelming bipartisan support for a special prosecutor to investigate the IRS," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
A recent CNN/ORC poll indicates that there is widespread public support for a special prosecutor to take the reins on the Russian investigation.
"There is so much conflicting information from many sources; Americans deserve the opportunity to learn the truth," Republican Rep. Steve Knight of California said on Tuesday as he announced his support for a special prosecutor.
By the end of the day, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman had indicated his support for the special prosecutor demand, asking Governor Andrew Cuomo for the authority to investigate the failure to indict Eric Garner's killer.
