US attorney who Trump fired minutes after he got the job sues to get it back
A former U.S. attorney in Washington state is suing the Trump administration for firing him less than an hour after a panel of federal judges unanimously voted to appoint him to the job.
case It’s the first of its kind as the administration continues its long-running fight to nominate and confirm President Donald Trump’s picks for attorneys general across the country; Exercising tight control over the federal justice system.
Roger Rogoff, a former judge and longtime prosecutor, was chosen by federal judges last week to be the state’s Western District attorney general, but was fired less than an hour later.
In his lawsuit filed Tuesday, Rogoff said the law clearly states that federal judges are allowed to choose U.S. attorneys until the post is filled by a Senate-confirmed nominee.
“But no one has yet been nominated, let alone confirmed, to fill the vacancy,” his lawsuit states.
The lawsuit, which asks the Trump administration to honor the selection of judges, argues that Rogoff’s removal violates the Constitution and gives Trump the ability to rewrite the law.
“The President cannot authorize himself to make these temporary appointments or rewrite (the law) to require presidential approval of the district court selection,” the lawsuit states.
“District court judges can appoint an interim U.S. Attorney and POTUS can fire them,” acting attorney general Todd Blanche wrote in a social media post the day Rogoff was fired. “WDWA judges abandoned the traditional consultation process with the administration so that the elected U.S. Attorney would be eligible to serve in the administration. Roger Rogoff was fired by the President.”
CNN has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
Rogoff is not the first attorney general appointed by a panel of district court judges and quickly removed by the Trump administration; but others backed down and continued to allow the Justice Department to use its own chosen leadership.
Other U.S. attorneys’ offices have had issues with district court judges and the Trump administration. In several parts of the country, the Justice Department appointed a top prosecutor who judges determined was unqualified for the job because too much time had passed before the new appointment was approved by the Senate.
The most notable version of this version of the Court-Trump conflict occurred last year in Northern Virginia; A federal judge dismissed lawsuits filed by then-U.S. Attorney General Lindsey Halligan against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey after finding that the prosecutor was not properly appointed and the Senate was not confirmed.
He’s coming soon left office The ongoing fallout following the loss and criticism during his time leading the region. The Justice Department is still appealing the dismissal of the Comey and James case.
And Trump’s former personal lawyer, Alina HabbaHe was forced to resign after an appeals court ruled that he improperly served as a U.S. attorney in New Jersey.
CNN’s Katelyn Polantz contributed to this report.
For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at: CNN.com
