CRITICS FEAR FALLOUT FROM U. S. ATTORNEY DISMISSALS
Democrats worry election and Russia investigations will be weakened by move
The Trump administration says it followed standard operating procedure in seeking the resignations of 46 U. S. attorneys, while critics fear the sudden move will undermine ongoing probes, perhaps one involving the president’s campaign and Russia.
Aides said it is the president’s prerogative to appoint his own people to U. S. attorney jobs, while congressional Democrats said the mass removal calls the Justice Department’s independence into question at a time when some are demanding a special prosecutor to look into possible contacts between Trump associates and Russians during last year’s election.
“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,” department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said. “The attorney general has now asked the remaining 46 presidentially appointed U. S. attorneys to tender their resignations in order to ensure a uniform transition.”
On Saturday, New York- based U. S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who is involved in public corruption and insider trading cases, refused to resign, forcing Trump to fire him. Bharara met with Trump during the transition and told reporters that the then- president- elect said he wanted him to stay on.
“I did not resign,” Bharara tweeted Saturday. “Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY ( Southern District of New York) will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life.”
Protesting the removal of Bharara and other U. S. attorneys, New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, a Democrat, said Trump’s “abrupt” deci- sion creates questions “about whether the Justice Department’s vital and nonpartisan work will continue under Attorney General ( Jeff ) Sessions, as it must.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the process of replacing U. S. attorneys is usually more gradual, with the holdovers leaving over time to “protect the independence of our prosecutors and avoid disrupting ongoing federal cases.”
Feinstein noted Sessions has recused himself from involvement in any investigation of Russia and the Trump campaign, so “the independence of federal prosecutors could not be more impor- tant. That’s why many of us have called for ... a special prosecutor.”
Washington attorney Chuck Cooper, an assistant attorney general during the Ronald Reagan administration whom Trump considered for the post of solicitor general, said there is no connection between replacing U. S. attorneys and any investigation of Russia.
To suggest otherwise, he said, is “ludicrous” and “transparent political posturing” by Trump opponents.
“What’s going on here is the routine transfer of power from one administration to the other,” Cooper said. “Elections have consequences. These are political appointees serving at the pleasure of the president.”
In any case, the appointment of any special prosecutor would be at the discretion of the attorney general — or, given Sessions’ recusal, his deputy.
Flores said Trump called two U. S. attorneys to tell them they are being kept on: Dana Boente of Virginia, who acting deputy attorney general, and Rod Rosenstein of Maryland, nominated by Trump to be Sessions’ deputy full time.
“What’s going on here is the routine transfer of power from one administration to the other.” Chuck Cooper, an assistant attorney general during the Ronald Reagan administration