Jessie Liu, the former top law enforcement officer in Washington, D.C., who oversaw several cases related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, resigned from the Treasury Department after her nomination to a top post in the agency was pulled by the president.
Liu, 46, was President Trump’s choice for undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes, but her nomination was withdrawn before her scheduled Thursday confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
Following her nomination to the Treasury Department, Attorney General William Barr chose his senior counselor, Timothy Shea, to be the acting U.S. attorney in D.C., pushing Liu out of the role.
Liu was first brought on to the Trump transition team before being tapped as D.C.’s top prosecutor, where she led more than 300 prosecutors in the nation’s largest U.S. attorney’s office.
She took part in several politically charged investigations, including the cases against Trump campaign associates Roger Stone and Paul Manafort and other offshoots from the federal Russia investigation.
The D.C. attorney’s office under her leadership received criticism for handing out harsh sentences to the president’s allies while cutting plea deals to others who worked against the White House and Republicans on Capitol Hill.
She led the criminal investigation into former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who was fired in 2018 following a Justice Department inspector general report that found he lied to investigators.
The case has not been resolved, however, despite a judge’s protestation. Additionally, Liu spearheaded the government investigation and case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
