Jeff Sessions of Alabama. (photo: Hilary Swift/NYT)
Jeff Sessions Asks 46 Obama-Era US Attorneys to Resign
By Lydia Wheeler, The Hill
11 March 17
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has asked dozens of U.S. attorneys appointed
by former President Obama to submit their resignations, the Department of
Justice announced Friday.
U.S. attorneys are normally replaced at the beginning of new
administrations. Of the 93 U.S. attorneys, 46 remain from the past
administration, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Sessions asked for the federal prosecutors to resign "in order to ensure a
uniform transition," DOJ spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement.
"As was the case in prior transitions, many of the United States Attorneys
nominated by the previous administration already have left the Department of
Justice," the spokeswoman said.
The DOJ said career prosecutors in Sessions' office would continue
investigations and prosecutions until the new U.S. attorneys are confirmed.
The call for resignations applies to all Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorneys,
including Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New
York.
That comes as a surprise, as Bharara reportedly met with Trump after the
election and agreed to remain in his position during the Trump
administration. Sessions also asked him to stay, the prosecutor told The New
York Times.
Once the resignations are submitted, it would be Trump's decision on whether
to accept all of them.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement that he was "troubled to
learn of reports of requests for resignations from the remaining U.S.
Attorneys, particularly that of Preet Bharara."
The Senate Democratic leader said Trump "initiated a call to me in November
and assured me he wanted Mr. Bharara to continue to serve as U.S. Attorney
for the Southern District."
"While it's true that presidents from both parties made their own choices
for U.S. Attorney positions across the country, they have always done so in
an orderly fashion that doesn't put ongoing investigations at risk. They ask
for letters of resignation but the attorneys are allowed to stay on the job
until their successor is confirmed," he said.
"By asking for the immediate resignation of every remaining U.S. Attorney
before their replacements have been confirmed or even nominated, the
President is interrupting ongoing cases and investigations and hindering the
administration of justice."
Democracy 21, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the
Campaign Legal Center sent a letter this week asking Bharara to investigate
whether Trump has received payments or other benefits from foreign
governments through his business interests, according to The Washington
Post.
Under the "emoluments clause" of the Constitution, top officials are
prohibited from receiving payments or favors from foreign governments.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary
Committee, issued a statement criticizing the "abrupt firing" of federal
prosecutors.
"Under previous administrations, orderly transitions allowed U.S. attorneys
to leave gradually as their replacements were chosen," Feinstein said. "This
was done to protect the independence of our prosecutors and avoid disrupting
ongoing federal cases."
"At a time when Attorney General Sessions has recused himself from major
investigations into the Trump campaign, the independence of federal
prosecutors could not be more important," she added, reiterating the call
for a special prosecutor.
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