Trump fires newly appointed U.S. attorney in Seattle less than an hour after swearing-in
President Trump fired the newly appointed U.S. attorney for Seattle, Roger Rogoff, less than an hour after he was sworn in by federal judges. The Department of Justice stated the firing occurred because the judges bypassed the standard consultation process with the administration.
Why it matters
The incident highlights ongoing tensions regarding executive authority and the appointment process within the American federal justice system.
Federal judges appointed longtime prosecutor Roger Rogoff to serve as U.S. attorney in Seattle, but President Donald Trump fired him less than an hour after he was sworn in Tuesday. When KOMO News asked Rogoff about being the U.S. attorney in Seattle for less than an hour, he replied, "Greatest hour in my life." Rogoff, a longtime federal prosecutor, former King County Superior Court judge and former director of Washington's Office of Independent Investigations, said he was dismissed in an email titled "A Message From the President." VOTE: How worried are you about political interference in the American justice system? "It basically said, 'I'm informing you that pursuant to his authority, President Trump is hereby removing you from the office of the United States attorney,'" Rogoff said. KOMO News asked Rogoff whether he anticipated the move.
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