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Another High-ranking DC federal prosecutor resigns in protest
The leader of the #criminal division has stepped down following a dispute over freezing #Biden-era #environmental #grants.
The head of the criminal division in the US attorney’s office in DC resigned Tues morning after declining to comply with a #Trump admin demand to freeze the assets of a multibillion-dollar Biden administration environmental grant initiative….
#law #TrumpCoup #authoritarianism #autocracy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2025/02/18/federal-prosecutor-dc-resigns/
Veteran prosecutor Denise Cheung did not spell out her reasons for her sudden resignation in an emailed announcement to colleagues that was obtained by The Washington Post, but she praised her co-workers for their “countless” sacrifices in the service of the public & #honest #law enforcement.
“This office is a special place,” she wrote. “I took an oath of office to support & defend the #Constitution, & I have executed this duty faithfully.”
Cheung’s resignation came in connection w/ a #Justice Department effort to assist #Trump’s new head of the #Environmental Protection Agency [#EPA], who said last week that he would try to rescind $20 billion in #grants awarded by the #Biden admin for #climate & #CleanEnergy projects, according to 2 people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss it publicly.
#EPA Administrator [& #ClimateChange denier] Lee Zeldin said on X that the agency would seek to revoke contracts for a still-emerging “green bank,” known as the #GreenhouseGas Reduction Fund, that is set to fund tens of thousands of projects to fight climate change & promote #EnvironmentalJustice.
The people said Cheung & interim US attorney #EdwardMartin [#Jan6 insurrectionist] disagreed over whether she was delaying efforts to order a financial institution to halt spending transfers pending further investigation, or seeking to reach a compromise by taking steps she believed were #ethical & appropriate. On Mon, Martin called Cheung, yelling at her for failing to do what acting deputy AG #EmilBove’s office had asked….
The #Justice Dept has the authority to freeze assets, but it can only take that step when it has evidence suggesting the assets can be traced to a #crime.
In this case, the people said, Cheung & Martin disagreed over whether halting releases was inappropriate & #unethical without such evidence, or whether she was *disobeying* the #DOJ’s leadership & investigative strategy of stopping releases & looking for evidence.
Cheung’s departure as the top supervisor overseeing federal #criminal cases for the US attorney’s office in DC marks the latest shake-up of key federal prosecutors’ offices under the #Trump admin. At least 7 senior US public #corruption prosecutors resigned last week, including interim Manhattan US atty #DanielleSassoon & a top deputy, after #EmilBove ordered the dismissal of corruption charges against NYC Mayor #EricAdams because he agreed to support the admIn’s anti-#immigration policies.
#law
Read the #resignation letter by #DeniseCheung, a veteran DC federal prosecutor [pic]
She refused a #Trump admin demand to freeze environmental grant assets.
The head of the #criminal division in the US attorney’s office in DC resigned Tues morning after declining to comply with a Trump admin demand to freeze the assets of a multibillion-dollar Biden admin environmental grant initiative & launch a criminal investigation without evidence of wrongdoing.
