Republican and Democratic senators have voiced concerns with President Biden that his move to terminate 56 U.S. attorneys without replacements could threaten investigations.
The Biden Justice Department called on 56 Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys Monday to resign, causing three lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to warn the president this action must be done in an orderly way.
Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter Wednesday to the president calling on him to consult with the home state of each U.S. attorney’s senators before terminating these attorneys.
“It is unfortunate that you are taking these actions without replacements announced. It is also concerning that your administration did not consult with home-state Senators about this decision and that some of these U.S. Attorneys may be involved in sensitive investigations,” Grassley wrote.
A similar letter sent Tuesday evening by Illinois Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed concern for the Biden administration terminating U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch, who is currently supervising a public corruption case that reportedly implicated the longtime Illinois House speaker.
“While we agree with the Biden Administration’s criminal justice agenda, we are disappointed with the decision to terminate U.S. Attorney Lausch without consulting us. In 2017, our non-partisan screening committee gave its support for Mr. Lausch to serve in this position, and the Senate confirmed him unanimously,” Durbin and Duckworth wrote.
The Democratic senators added, “While the President has the right to remove U.S. Attorneys, there is precedent for U.S. Attorneys in the Northern District of Illinois to remain in office to conclude sensitive investigations. We believe Mr. Lausch should be permitted to continue in his position until his successor is confirmed by the Senate, and we urge the Biden Administration to allow him to do so.”
Lausch is supervising the ComEd public corruption investigation in Illinois. The bribery case could potentially implicate longtime Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, who is an ally of former President Barack Obama.
“It is therefore especially important that this investigation be allowed to proceed in a way that does not even provide the appearance of political interference from Washington,” Grassley said, describing Madigan as the Democratic political “boss” of Illinois.
Grassley noted that four years prior, when Trump’s then-attorney general, Jeff Sessions, began terminating U.S. attorneys at the start of the administration, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and then-Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer objected to the termination of the U.S. attorneys who were in the midst of conducting federal investigations.
“Under previous administrations, orderly transitions allowed U.S. attorneys to leave gradually as their replacements were chosen. This was done to protect the independence of our prosecutors and avoid disrupting ongoing federal cases,” Feinstein said at the time.
Schumer agreed, saying, “By asking for the immediate resignation of every remaining U.S. Attorney before their replacements have been confirmed or even nominated, the President is interrupting ongoing cases and investigations and hindering the administration of justice.”
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted at the time, “You can’t fire the rule of law, @realDonaldTrump. You can’t shut down ongoing investigations by career prosecutors.”
Grassley told Biden in his letter that he “echos many of these concerns,” adding that “I would urge you not to simply fire all of President Trump’s U.S. Attorneys except for the two most obviously sensitive-Durham and Weiss. Take the time to do it right. See who has important investigations ongoing-like Lausch-and make sure that the American People have confidence in the independence of the Department of Justice.”
