According to a recent NY Times article, R. Blake Chisam has broad support among first responders, victims, 9/11 family members, lawmakers and 9/11 activists to become the next Special Master  of the  9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.  He is a former Prosecutor on the House Ethics Committee, and his prosecution caused the fall from grace of powerful Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York.

As we previously reported, Kenneth Feinberg was the Special Master of the original 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, and offered to repeat this role with the new Fund. However, he is currently busy administering the BP Gulf Oil Disaster Fund and obviously could not do both.

According to the NY Times, Attorney General Eric Holder has also interviewed two other highly respected lawyers for the 9/11 Special Master position. They include Sheila L. Birnbaum, a lawyer well known for representing corporations in mass environmental negligence claims, and Jay Lefkowitz, a top litigator with White House experience in both Bush administrations.