Why it’s a good move for Donald
In one important sense, the request from Attorney General Jeff Sessions that all 46 remaining Obama administration U.S. attorneys resign immediately, is no big deal. After all, a necessary part of the President’s authority to appoint the chief federal prosecutor in each of our 94 federal districts is the power to get rid of them, too.
Not that there isn’t a better way to go. In 1977, for example, New York Sens. Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Jacob Javits — members of opposite parties — agreed that each would allow holdover attorneys in New York to serve out their fouryear terms even when the White House changes parties. The goal was to lessen the taint of politics in what must always be professional decisions based on the facts, the law, and ethical constraints.
Although they are in one sense, representatives of the President and his Department of Justice in the field, U.S. attorneys very much have an independent role in deciding how to proceed with cases — a role that is only strengthened when they are allowed to serve without fear of being fired at any moment.
The Moynihan-Javits practice was not uncommon around the nation at the time, until former President Bill Clinton in 1993 changed course by requesting that the vast majority of holdover U.S. attorneys resign. One explanation for Trump’s actions is that Bharara, who had already forged a reputation for independence in the Obama era, would be practically 100% independent under Trump. If Bharara were to be ordered not to pursue an investigation unpopular with the administration, and then either refused or resigned in protest, it would be an act worthy of a Profiles in Courage award for him, and a sticky wicket for the administration. He would also, if he so chose, be able to wear it as a political badge of honor.
Viewed through that lens and the political perspective of Trump’s advisers, the President did the right thing by including Bharara along with the others, notwithstanding any previous promise.
From a purely political guise, better to rip the Band-Aid off now than to have to face the choice in a year or two when Bharara might in fact be conducting an investigation that the administration doesn’t welcome.