number of presidents who fired attorney general

by Orpha Powlowski 5 min read

Who made up the list of eight prosecutors to be fired?

On March 10, 2017, Jeff Sessions, who was appointed United States Attorney General by President Donald Trump, requested the resignations of 46 United States Attorneys. Some resignations were declined by Sessions or Trump. Media outlets described Sessions' move as abrupt and unexpected but not unprecedented. It is typical that when a new president enters …

Why were attorneys fired from the Department of Justice?

1 day ago · Ex-Attorney General Bill Barr says former President Donald Trump fired him in a fit of anger in response to his declaration that the campaign to overturn the presidential election was “bulls—” The nation’s former top law enforcement official told NBC News that Trump erupted in the Oval Office in December 2020 when Barr trashed the various conspiracy theories …

Are there any criminal charges in US Attorney firings?

Jul 03, 2017 · Before he was the President, Donald Trump was most famous for booting people on TV—a habit that has proved hard to quit. So far, acting attorney general Sally Yates, national-security adviser Michael Flynn, and FBI director James Comey (above) have all found themselves on the receiving end of the onetime TV host’s catchphrase, “You’re fired.” ...

How many Obama-appointed attorneys were left for sessions to fire?

Mar 12, 2017 · In March 1993, Janet Reno began her tenure as President Bill Clinton's attorney general by summarily firing United States attorneys for …

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Can the President of the United States fire the attorney general?

The President of the United States has the authority to appoint U.S. Attorneys, with the consent of the United States Senate, and the President may remove U.S. Attorneys from office. In the event of a vacancy, the United States Attorney General is authorized to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney.

Can attorney general be removed?

He can be removed by the President at any time. He can quit by submitting his resignation only to the President. Since he is appointed by the President on the advice of the Council of Ministers, conventionally he is removed when the council is dissolved or replaced.

How many US attorneys did Trump replace?

This is a list of United States attorneys appointed by the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump. President Trump nominated 86 people to be U.S. attorneys, and 84 of them were confirmed.

Does the US attorney general work for the president?

The United States attorney general (AG) leads the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief lawyer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters.

Who was the last Attorney General?

California Former Attorneys GeneralMatthew Rodriguez2021 – 2021Kamala D. Harris2010 – 2017Edmund G. Brown, Jr.2007 – 2011Bill Lockyer1999 – 2007Daniel E. Lungren1991 – 199929 more rows

Has a US attorney general ever been impeached?

Attorneys General. While impeachment proceedings against cabinet secretaries is an exceedingly rare event, no office has provoked the ire of the House of Representatives than that of Attorney General. During the first fifth of the 21st century, no less than three Attorneys General have been subjected to the process.

Was Durham fired?

In 2008, Durham led an inquiry into allegations that FBI agents and Boston Police had ties with the mafia. ... Durham resigned as U.S. Attorney effective February 28, 2021. He was one of 56 remaining Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys President Joe Biden asked to resign in February 2021.

Are U.S. Attorneys political appointees?

While prospective U.S. Attorneys are nominated by a president and confirmed by the Senate, the rules governing interim appointments differ significantly from traditional executive nomina- tions politics by allowing the participation of the courts if stalemate persists.

Who has been appointed as the U.S. Attorney General?

Hence, they must have been a judge of some high court for five years or an advocate of some high court for ten years, or an eminent jurist in the opinion of the President. The 15th and current Attorney General is K. K. Venugopal. He was reappointed by President Ram Nath Kovind in 2020.

Is the FBI part of the Department of Justice?

Within the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI is responsible to the attorney general, and it reports its findings to U.S. Attorneys across the country. The FBI's intelligence activities are overseen by the Director of National Intelligence.

Who was Trump's Attorney General?

Jeff SessionsOfficial portrait, 201784th United States Attorney GeneralIn office February 9, 2017 – November 7, 2018PresidentDonald Trump33 more rows

Who is the DOJ now?

Merrick B. GarlandMeet the Attorney General Attorney General Merrick B. Garland was sworn in as the 86th Attorney General of the United States on March 11, 2021.2 days ago

When did Janet Reno become Attorney General?

National Review pointed out that Janet Reno began her tenure as President Bill Clinton 's attorney general in March 1993 by firing U.S. attorneys for 93 of the 94 federal districts, this being more than twice as many as Trump attorney general Sessions fired on Friday.

Who did Trump decline to accept?

President Donald Trump declined to accept the resignations of Dana Boente (left) and Rod Rosenstein (right). Trump declined to accept the resignations of Boente (Eastern District of Virginia), who was serving as Acting Deputy Attorney General, and Rosenstein (District of Maryland), whom Trump had selected to become Deputy Attorney General.

Who was the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services during the 2016 election?

Trump's Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Tom Price, traded stocks of health-related corporations during the time period when Price was working on crafting the legislation that would affect those firms.

Who was the Secretary of State when Trump fired Comey?

Comey was in California, and learned of his dismissal from news reports. Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State. Trump responded “FAKE NEWS!” to reports in late 2017 that he was planning to fire his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, and replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

Who was in charge of the Reagan assassination?

Instead, the public took it as a sign the administration was failing and desperate. Alexander Haig (CQ Roll Call Archive Photo) Ronald Reagan. Alexander Haig, Secretary of State. When Haig announced he was in charge following the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, a few feathers were ruffled.

Why was Flynn fired?

Flynn was fired the first time for sharing sensitive information with foreign intelligence officials without authorization. Donald Trump. Sally Yates, Acting Attorney General. Trump fired Yates when she sent out a memo instructing Justice staff not to defend the executive order banning travel by certain populations.

Why did Bush lose the majority in Congress?

President Bush lost his majority in congress in 2006, largely due to the public’s opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A day after the election, Rumsfeld was out and former CIA director Robert Gates was in.

Why was Douglas MacArthur fired?

Harry S. Truman. Douglas MacArthur, Commander of U.N. forces in Korea. Truman fired MacArthur for insubordination after privately pushing for a wider war with China and publicly criticizing Truman. After being dismissed, he was invited to address a joint session of Congress.

Who was the youngest person to be CIA director?

Brent Scowcroft was in as national security adviser, George H.W. Bush as CIA director, Donald Rumsfeld was to lead Defense and Dick Cheney moved up to be chief of staff (at 34-years-old, he became the youngest in the role in history).

Who was the surgeon general who suggested condoms be distributed at public schools?

Joycelyn Elders , Surgeon General. Elders frequently ran afoul of the religious right, dismissing America’s “love affair with the fetus,” suggesting condoms be distributed at public schools and that comprehensive sex education should be taught. With Clinton besieged by critics in 1994, he parted ways with Elders.

Who was the president who fired George McClellan?

The President caught W’s eye during the walk-and-talk, and the son responded with an affirming wink. 6. Biggest Historical Impact. Abraham Lincoln fired General George McClellan, who wrote to his wife: “There never was a truer epithet applied to a certain individual than that of the ‘Gorilla.’.

Who was the attorney general that subpoenaed Nixon's recordings?

Amid the Watergate investigation, Richard Nixon asked attorney general Elliot Richardson and his deputy, William Ruckelshaus, to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who months earlier had subpoenaed Nixon’s Oval Office recordings. Both lawyers opted to resign instead. In the wake of what was dubbed the Saturday Night Massacre, ...

When did Reagan fire the Air Traffic Controllers?

In 1981 , Ronald Reagan fired 11,400 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization 48 hours after offering them an ultimatum: end their illegal strike or forfeit their jobs. The workers, seeking better pay and working conditions, were banned from federal employment.

Who replaced Douglas MacArthur?

Biggest Turnaround. On April 11, 1951, Harry S. Truman replaced popular general Douglas MacArthur with General Matthew Ridgway over what Truman called MacArthur’s “rank insubordination” during the Korean War. Enjoying a hero’s welcome back home, MacArthur was invited to speak to a joint session of Congress.

Who was the president who convinced his dad to let him do the dirty work?

Photo by Life Images Collection/Getty Images. 5. Breakthrough Performance. George W. Bush convinced his President-dad to let him do the dirty work when it was time to fire chief of staff John Sununu in 1991.

What was Donald Trump famous for?

Before he was the President, Donald Trump was most famous for booting people on TV —a habit that has proved hard to quit.

Who was fired for refusing to quit?

Geoffrey Berman: Trump fires top US prosecutor who refused to quit. US President Donald Trump has fired a top federal prosecutor who refused to leave office, Attorney General William Barr has said. Geoffrey Berman, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said on Friday that he had learned he was "stepping down" in a press release.

Who said the Attorney General must be held accountable for his actions?

Top US Democrat Nancy Pelosi said she believed there were "base and improper motives" in the sacking of Mr Berman and that the Attorney General "must be held accountable for his actions". Mr Berman oversaw the prosecution of a number of Mr Trump's associates.

Who is the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York?

Geoffrey Berman, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said on Friday that he had learned he was "stepping down" in a press release. Mr Berman insisted he would stay in post and continue his investigations.

Who approved Clayton's nomination?

He said Mr Clayton's nomination would still have to be approved by New York's two Senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, who are both Democrats.

Who is Michael Cohen?

They included the president's former lawyer Michael Cohen, who has served a prison sentence for lying to Congress and election campaign finance fraud. Mr Berman's department has also been investigating the conduct of Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trump's current personal lawyer.

Who is the attorney for the Southern District of New York?

Washington CNN —. Preet Bharara, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York who President Donald Trump fired just three months into his presidency, says he believes that if he had stayed Trump would have asked him “to do something inappropriate.”. “I will tell you one thing, now that it’s been some months.

Who did Bharara talk to?

The interactions Bharara said he had with Trump started with a call from Democratic New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, his old boss, who called Bharara shortly after the election to tell him Trump wanted to keep him around. Bharara said that the call came as a surprise to him but was “flattered at the time.”. It led to an in-person meet-and-greet on ...

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Overview

Reactions and congressional investigation

The initial reaction was from the senators of the affected states. In a letter to Gonzales on January 9, 2007, Senators Feinstein (D, California) and Leahy (D, Vermont; Chair of the Committee) of the Senate Judiciary Committee expressed concern that the confirmation process for U.S. attorneys would be bypassed, and on January 11, they, together with Senator Pryor (D, Arkansas), introduced legislation "to prevent circumvention of the Senate's constitutional prerogative to con…

Issues in brief

By tradition, all U.S. Attorneys are asked to resign at the start of a new administration. The new President may elect to keep or remove any U.S. Attorney. They are traditionally replaced collectively only at the start of a new White House administration. U.S. Attorneys hold a political office, in which the President nominates candidates to office and the Senate confirms, and consequently, they serve at the pleasure of the President. When a new President is from a differ…

Fallout

By April 2007, there was some speculation that the dismissal of the US attorneys might affect cases of public corruption and voter fraud. According to the National Law Journal,
Just the appearance of political influence in cases related to those firings, combined with the recent, unusual reversal of a federal public corruption convi…

Replacement of the U.S. Attorneys

On January 6, 2005, Colin Newman, an assistant in the White House counsels office, wrote to David Leitch stating, "Karl Rovestopped by to ask you (roughly quoting) 'how we planned to proceed regarding U.S. Attorneys, whether we were going to allow all to stay, request resignations from all and accept only some of them or selectively replace them, etc.'". The email was then forwarded to Kyle …

Aftermath

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel stated that some of the emails that had involved official correspondence relating to the firing of attorneys may have been lost because they were conducted on Republican party accounts and not stored properly. "Some official e-mails have potentially been lost and that is a mistake the White House is aggressively working to correct." said Stanzel, a White House spokesman. Stonzel said that they could not rule out the possibility …

See also

• 2017 dismissal of U.S. attorneys
• List of federal political scandals in the United States
• Don Siegelman
• Cyril Wecht

Notes

1. ^ "Although Bush and President Bill Clinton each dismissed nearly all U.S. attorneys upon taking office, legal experts and former prosecutors say the firing of a large number of prosecutors in the middle of a term appears to be unprecedented and threatens the independence of prosecutors." Gonzales: 'Mistakes Were Made' The Washington Post, March 14, 2007
2. ^ Bowermaster, David (2007-05-09). "Charges may result from firings, say two former U.S. attorneys". The Seattle Times. …