In a call Monday night, acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson asked Delaware US Attorney David Weiss to remain in office, where he is overseeing the tax probe of Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son. John Durham, appointed as special counsel by former Attorney General William Barr to reinvestigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, will also continue his work, but he is expected to resign as US attorney in Connecticut, the Justice official said.
The resignation request is expected to apply to 56 Senate-confirmed US attorneys appointed by Trump.
Justice officials have scheduled a call with US attorneys around the country to discuss a transition that is expected to take weeks. The Justice official didn’t say when the resignations would take effect.
The changeover of US attorneys is routine, but is often fraught with political overtones. In 2017, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked 46 Obama-appointed US attorneys to submit their resignations. A handful were allowed to stay on for a brief period, but most had to leave immediately.
Huber was first appointed by former President Barack Obama and then reappointed by Trump. During his second time as the US attorney, Huber was tasked by Sessions to reexamine a previous Justice Department investigation of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s business dealings and the Clinton Foundation. Huber ended his probe, concluding there wasn’t reason to reopen the investigation, a decision that irritated Barr, according to people briefed on the matter.
Barr tasked Brady with reviewing claims related to Ukraine and the Biden family made by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
The move was initially seen by Justice officials as a way to keep dubious allegations from Giuliani — which Barr publicly cast doubt on — away from other Justice Department matters.
But Brady embraced the task, former Justice Department officials say, and pushed to take investigative steps that led to internal fights with the FBI and others. The status of Brady’s efforts on Ukraine remains unclear.
This story and its headline have been updated with more reporting.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/08/politics/leftover-trump-us-attorneys/index.html
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