In response to President Donald Trump’s administration’s pressure, another top federal prosecutor resigned from the Department of Justice.
Denise Cheung, who is currently in charge of the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia’s criminal division, reportedly quit her position on Tuesday.
In her resignation letter, obtained by several US news agencies, she highlighted her long career in civil service.
“I have been proud to serve at the U. S. Department of Justice and this office for over 24 years”, , Cheung , wrote.
“I took an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution, and I have executed this duty faithfully”.
She explained that after she objected to launching a criminal investigation she felt was unworthy, she was ordered to resign.
The requested investigation involved a contract that was awarded through the administration of Democrat Joe Biden, Trump’s former adversary in the election.
Cheung claimed that she had been asked to launch a grand jury investigation into the contract’s legality. But she indicated that, after research, she found no evidence to justify such a probe.
Then, in order to prevent funds from being distributed under the contract, she was asked to request an asset freeze.
Therefore, Cheung recommended a 30-day administrative freeze on some assets in a letter to the bank requesting it.
However, Trump administration officials pressured her into submitting a second letter, stating that the request was being pursued by a criminal organization.
Cheung identified Ed Martin, the interim head of the US Attorney’s Office in Washington, DC, as one of the officials giving her orders. He received the letter that she wrote.
You stated that you believed there was enough evidence, she wrote, “when I explained that the quantity of evidence did not support that action.”
According to the evidence I have reviewed, “I still don’t think there is sufficient proof to issue the letter you described,” including sufficient evidence to inform the bank that the specific accounts identified have probable cause for seizure.
Trump made the announcement on Monday that Martin had been chosen to become a permanent US attorney.
A far-right activist, Martin had helped raise money for rioters involved in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, which was led by Trump supporters.
He also played a role in organising a “Stop the Steal” rally, which spread the false claim that Trump’s defeat in 2020 was due to voter fraud.
Cheung claimed that her actions were necessary to uphold the US attorney’s office’s standards. “All that we do is rooted in following the facts and the law and complying with our moral, ethical and legal obligations”, she wrote.
The Justice Department’s latest resignation on Tuesday came as prosecutors filed complaints about their actions, which they said were unethical under Trump.
At least seven Justice Department attorneys resigned from their positions last week after the Trump administration demanded that they drop the charges of corruption against New York City mayor Eric Adams.
Trump and Adams had recently had a rapprochement, with the mayor agreeing to participate in the president’s immigration initiatives.
Some Justice Department attorneys claimed that Adams’ decision to drop the charges was motivated more by political than by the evidence.
“Any assistant U. S. attorney would know that our laws and traditions do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials, in this way”, the lead prosecutor, Hagan Scotten, said in his resignation letter.
If the President is unable to provide him with legal counsel, I anticipate that you will eventually locate someone who will be either enough of a fool or enough coward to file your motion. But I never would have been it.
Michelle King, the Social Security Administration’s acting acting commissioner, resigned over the weekend in response to DOGE’s attempts to access sensitive personal information.
On Tuesday, in a news conference from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump briefly addressed King’s departure, implying she had not willingly resigned.
Source: Aljazeera
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