Billings, Montana: Scott Twito Sworn In as Interim U.S. Attorney for Montana

Scott Twito, who served 16 years as Yellowstone County Attorney, was sworn in on Friday as Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris administered the oath in Billings.

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche named Twito to the interim post. He will serve for 120 days or until his presidential confirmation is approved by the Senate, the Justice Department said. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Montana is the federal prosecutor's office for the whole state, and its top job has changed hands several times this year.

A Billings career

Twito grew up in Billings and graduated from Billings West High School in 1990. Billings is the largest city in Montana and the seat of Yellowstone County, and the federal courthouse where he took the oath is in the city's downtown. As Yellowstone County Attorney, the elected prosecutor for Montana's most populous county, he worked on revamping criminal justice procedures for violent felonies, drug possession, theft and DUI offenses, the Justice Department said. He helped establish a satellite office of the State Crime Lab to serve Eastern Montana and established the first Children's Advocacy Center in Billings.

His state service runs wide. He served on the Montana Crime Laboratory Advisory Council from 2011 to 2021, sat on the board of the Montana County Attorneys' Association and on the Montana Courts of Limited Jurisdiction, was appointed by the Montana Attorney General to the Criminal Justice Oversight Council, an interim legislative committee, and was appointed by the Governor to the Montana Board of Crime Control, where he served for several years, according to the Justice Department.

A year of turnover at the top

Twito takes over from Mark Steger Smith, who was Acting U.S. Attorney from May to September. From March to May, the post was held by Acting U.S. Attorney Tim Raciot in Missoula. Before that, Kurt Alme was the U.S. Attorney, until he resigned in March to run for U.S. Senate, the Justice Department said.

The interim appointment puts a career Billings prosecutor in charge of federal cases across Montana while the Senate confirmation process runs its course. The Justice Department announcement did not name a nominee for the permanent post, and it did not give a date for a confirmation vote.