Top prosecutor resigns from U.S. attorney’s team

Nora Dannehy, a top prosecutor working for U.S. Attorney John Durham on the probe of the Russia investigation for Attorney General William Barr, has resigned, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut said.

The Hartford Courant, which first reported Dannehy’s departure, cited colleagues who told the newspaper that Dannehy was stepping down in part due to concerns of political pressure to deliver a report before the presidential election.

CNN has not confirmed the reason for her decision, but a source familiar with the matter confirmed she was working on the Russia probe.

Dannehy rejoined the office in March 2019. She had previously worked for nearly two decades for the office before leaving to become deputy attorney general for the state of Connecticut.

She returned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Hartford to work with Durham and the two have long been close, according to a former Justice Department colleague. Dannehy has a by-the-book and methodical reputation that dates back to her previous tenure in the office, and she isn’t one to make sudden decisions, the former colleague says.

“She’s long had a very close working relationship with John Durham,” a lawyer who has dealt with Dannehy for decades said. “It would be extraordinary for her to have left her longtime colleague, unless there was a very good reason in her mind to do it.”

One lawyer familiar with Dannehy’s work for Durham said her departure was puzzling. She had appeared committed to the investigation and “just worked like a dog on this.”

The decision was all the more surprising given her long history of working alongside Durham.

“She is a consummate professional and has historically operated at the highest ethical standards,” the lawyer added.