AG Sessions asks remaining 46 US attorneys to resign

A Justice Department statement said the action was taken “as was the case in prior transitions”.

Sessions’ request for resignations on Friday didn’t specify exit dates.

But the status of the more widely publicized United States Attorney for the Southern District, Preet Bharara, also a Democratic appointee, whose area includes Manhattan, was not immediately clear.

The George W. Bush administration eased USA attorneys out gradually while officials sought replacements, as did Obama’s Justice Department.

Montana’s U.S. Attorney Mike Cotter said he received a phone call from Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente telling him “the president has directed this”.

A spokesman for Bharara declined immediate comment. “Sessions, who is, as you know, has been nominated to be the attorney general”, Bharara said in November.

“What happened today on Friday, March 10, that was so important that all Obama appointees who are USA attorneys need to be gone?”

There’s always the chance that the White House and Sessions refuse Bharara’s resignation.

Indeed, this comes as he’s still investigating the de Blasio administration and other key figures in NY for possible corruption.

Bharara had been heralded by Republicans and Democrats for aggressively prosecuting corruption in Albany.

“False testimony made under oath is one of the most serious ethical offenses a lawyer can make and one any state bar should investigate vigorously”, said ACLU National Political Director Faiz Shakir. President Bill Clinton dismissed 93 when he assumed office.

Sessions, who has recused himself from the Russian Federation matter, on Thursday told a conservative radio host that he was open to naming a special counsel to look into the Justice Department under Obama.

On Thursday, as Media Matter reported, Sean Hannity on his radio show called for a purge of all Obama-era federal employees.

“Whoever replaces Bharara will have to make decisions based on how they view the facts and that’s going to be a tough spot because Bharara has advanced cases that are complex”, Horner said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, condemned the move. Now, he’s asking for a large number of United States attorneys to leave their positions as President Donald Trump’s Administration continues to transition.

He soon gained a reputation as a tireless crimefighter on multiple fronts, prosecuting cases of high-profile public corruption and domestic and worldwide terrorism.