"Several people made serious errors of judgment," says Portland criminal defense lawyer Bear Wilner-Nugent. "It ultimately embarrassed the U.S. attorney. It called into question his standing with our senators, and here we are. Nine times out of 10, the U.S. senators make the recommendation of who should be appointed. If it's January of 2016 and Hillary Clinton's staff is asking who the U.S. attorney for Oregon should be, [senators are] going to think twice about recommending Billy Williams."