SEATTLE (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump fired the new top U.S. prosecutor in Seattle on Wednesday less than an hour after the attorney was unanimously appointed by the federal judges in the district, between the courts and the president over the powerful positions.
Roger Rogoff, a former judge and veteran state and federal prosecutor, was sworn in as U.S. attorney before 8 a.m. at the U.S. courthouse in downtown Seattle. In a phone interview, he said he then went to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and asked to meet with Charles Neil Floyd, whose 120-day interim term in the position ended in February.
As he waited in a lobby, Rogoff said, he received an email from the Trump administration informing him he’d been removed. He is consulting with other lawyers about suing over his firing, he said.
Presidents normally appoint U.S. attorneys, the top federal prosecutor in each judicial district. The positions require Senate confirmation, except in temporary appointments. When temporary appointments expire before a nominee is confirmed, the judges in a judicial district can name a U.S. attorney.
But under Trump, the Justice Department has sought to leave unconfirmed prosecutors in their positions indefinitely, often through novel personnel maneuvers.
鈥淒istrict court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them,鈥� Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a social media post Wednesday. He added that the judges who appointed Rogoff 鈥渁bandoned the time-honored process of consultation with the administration so that the selected U.S. Attorney is qualified to serve in the administration.鈥�
Trump named Floyd, who previously served as an immigration judge, interim U.S. attorney last October but never forwarded his nomination to the Senate. When Floyd鈥檚 time as interim U.S. attorney expired, Trump simply shifted his title, a tactic the administration has also tried in other federal judicial districts: It named him first assistant U.S. attorney, while leaving the top post empty.
In May, a U.S. appeals court panel that the maneuver was legal. The federal judges in the city decided to take applications for the position, and it appointed a bipartisan panel to review the applications.
On Wednesday morning the court 鈥� comprising 17 active and senior judges appointed by five presidents 鈥� issued its unanimous order naming Rogoff the U.S. attorney for western Washington.
Democratic Washington U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, who had opposed Floyd for the U.S. attorney job, blasted Rogoff’s quick firing.
鈥淭hroughout his career, he has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to public service, and he was appointed legally by the federal judges in the Western District of Washington,鈥� the senator said in a written statement. 鈥淭his administration doesn鈥檛 want to deal with advice and consent鈥攖hey just want to install cronies to carry out a corrupt political agenda.鈥�
In December, as the top federal prosecutor for New Jersey after an appeals court .
Lindsey Halligan, against a , left her position as an acting U.S. attorney in Virginia after a her appointment was unlawful and that against James and former FBI Director James Comey must be dismissed.
The judges there named James Hundley, who had handled criminal and civil cases for more than 30 years, but the administration fired him. It also fired in northern New York.
Rogoff, who spent 20 years as a state prosecutor and six as a federal prosecutor before becoming a state judge, said he knew the administration might fire him immediately. But he said he had no qualms about the potential conflict he was walking into. Being U.S. attorney is 鈥渢he best job there is鈥� for a prosecutor, he said.
鈥淚’m really proud of my career,” Rogoff said. “The fact that the judges of this district 鈥� most of whom I’ve spent my career appearing in front of, or trying cases against, or working with 鈥� believed that I was the right person to do this work is just really humbling and amazing.鈥�
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