Another top federal prosecutor resigned from the US Department of Justice amid pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration.
Reuters news agency reported that Dennis Chan left her post on Tuesday after leading the criminal division of the District of Columbia’s U.S. Lawyers’ Office.
With her resignation letter, obtained by several US press, she highlighted her long career in civil service.
“I am proud to serve in the US Department of Justice and this office for over 24 years,” writes Chan.
“I took the oath of office to support and defend the Constitution, and I faithfully carried out this duty.”
However, she explained that she was ordered to resign after refusing to launch a criminal gang that she felt was worthless.
The requested investigation involved a contract awarded under the control of Democrat Joe Biden, Trump’s predecessor and former election rival.
Cheung wrote that he was asked to begin an investigation by the Great Ju Court on the legality of the contract. However, she showed that after the study, no evidence could be found justifying such a probe.
She was then asked to freeze her assets, preventing the funds from being paid under the contract.
Therefore, Cheung has included a letter to the banks “recommending a 30-day management freeze on certain assets.”
However, Trump administration officials urged her to send a second letter, specifying that the request came as part of a criminal investigation.
Chen has identified Ed Martin, interim chief of the U.S. Lawyer’s Office in Washington, DC, as one of the officials who issued her orders. She spoke to him.
“When you explained that the amount of evidence did not support the action, you said you believed there was sufficient evidence,” she wrote.
“Based on the evidence I reviewed, I do not believe there is sufficient evidence to issue the letter you described, including the possibility of seizing a particular account identified. It contains sufficient evidence to tell the bank that there is a cause.”
Trump announced Monday that he had appointed Martin to permanently assume the role of US lawyer.
Martin, a far-right activist, was helping to raise funds for the mob involved in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
He also played a role in organizing a “stolen steal” rally in 2020 that spread false claims that Trump’s defeat was due to voter fraud.
Cheung said her actions are necessary to maintain standards for the U.S. Lawyer’s Office. “What we do is rooted in following facts and laws and complying with moral, ethical and legal obligations,” she wrote.
Her departure on Tuesday was the latest in a string of resignations from the Justice Department as prosecutors condemned behaviours they consider to be unethical under Trump.
At least seven Justice Department lawyers left their posts last week after the Trump administration called for New York City Mayor Eric Adams to withdraw corruption charges.
Trump and Adams have recently made a settlement, with the mayor agreeing to join the president’s immigration initiative.
Several Justice Department lawyers have shown that the decision to withdraw the charges against Adams was politically motivated, rather than evidence-based.
“You know that US lawyers don’t allow us to use our laws and traditions in this way to not use our prosecutor to affect other citizens, unelected officials.” Prosecutor Hagan Skoten said in his resignation.
“If the lawyer in the president’s ear doesn’t try to give him that advice, I hope you will find someone who is enough fools or enough cowardly to submit your move. But it was never meant to be me.”
Michelle King, a representative of the Social Security Agency, also resigned over the weekend after an attempt by Government Efficiency (DOGE) to access confidential personal information.
At a press conference from the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Tuesday, Trump briefly addressing King’s departure, hinting that she was willing to resign.
“When you fire someone, they always resign and then they say, ‘We’ve resigned,'” he said. However, he provided no evidence to demonstrate his claim.
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