ALBAWABA — U.S. President Donald Trump fired a freshly appointed federal prosecutor in Washington state less than an hour after he took office, opening a new legal dispute over the extent of presidential power to remove court-assigned prosecutors.
Israel tells US Pentagon it’s keeping its forces inside ‘security zones’ in Gaza, Lebanon, and SyriaFormer judge and veteran federal prosecutor Roger Rogoff was unanimously chosen by U.S. District Court judges in the Western District of Washington to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle once a temporary presidential appointment expires.
Rogoff took the oath of office Wednesday morning before traveling over to the federal prosecutor’s office. But soon after he accepted the assignment, he said he got an email from the Trump administration saying he was withdrawn.
The former prosecutor said in comments to local media that he was seeking legal advice on appealing the dismissal in court, saying the government rejected previous attempts by his staff to discuss his appointment before taking action.
The White House defended the move. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said federal judges have the right to appoint interim U.S. attorneys once temporary assignments expire but the president also has the constitutional authority to remove them.
Blanche also took the court to task for naming Rogoff without contacting the administration, saying coordination has typically been part of the selection process for senior federal prosecutors.
The fight started when the 120-day temporary appointment of Charles Neil Floyd — whom Trump tapped to run the office but never formally nominated to the Senate for confirmation — ran out. When Floyd’s temporary tenure ended, the administration moved him into another prominent post and the U.S. attorney job remained formally empty.
The Trump administration challenged the ability of judges to select a U.S. attorney when the interim appointment expires without Senate confirmation, but under federal law, judges can make the appointment.
Rogoff’s ouster is the latest clash between the Trump administration and the federal judiciary over who controls U.S. attorney selections, a fight expected to further test the balance of powers between the executive and judicial branches.
