A former US attorney in Washington state is suing the Trump administration for firing him less than one hour after a panel of federal judges unanimously voted to appoint him to the role. Roger Rogoff, a former judge and longtime prosecutor, was selected by the federal judges as the state’s top prosecutor for the Western District last week, only to be fired less than an hour later.

Background

The lawsuit is the first of its kind as the administration continues a longstanding struggle to nominate and confirm President Donald Trump’s picks for lead prosecutors across the country; exerting tight control over the federal justice system. In his lawsuit filed Tuesday, Rogoff said the law clearly stated federal judges are allowed to select US attorneys until the role has been filled by a Senate-confirmed nominee.

The lawsuit, which asks for the Trump administration to abide by the judges’ pick, argues that Rogoff’s firing violates the Constitution and gives Trump the ability to rewrite law. The lawsuit states that the President cannot grant himself the authority to make those interim appointments instead, nor can he rewrite the law to require presidential approval of the district court’s choice.

Response from the Administration

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a social media post the day Rogoff was fired, ‘District court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them. WDWA judges abandoned the time-honored process of consultation with the administration so that the selected U.S. Attorney is qualified to serve in the administration. Roger Rogoff has been fired by the President.’

CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment. Rogoff is not the first lead prosecutor appointed by a panel of district court judges to be swiftly fired by the Trump administration, though others have backed down and continued to let the Justice Department use leadership of its choosing.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.