Remaining Biden US Attorneys Said to Have Devices Deactivated

As many as 22 remaining Biden-appointed US attorneys had their government-issued devices deactivated Friday without being told they’ve been fired or provided an explanation, said three people familiar with the situation.

Chief law enforcement officials across the US are now scrambling to figure out how they can continue performing their functions—including responding to critical incidents—or whether the White House had intended to terminate them as it did Feb. 12 for other holdover US attorneys from the prior administration.

It’s unclear how many of the 22 Biden-nominated, Senate confirmed US attorneys who are still listed online as having their jobs were impacted. Two of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, said many if not all of the Biden holdovers lost access to their phones and computers.

Some of the other remaining US attorneys appointed by Biden were fired Feb. 12 at the direction of President Donald Trump.

The group that still thought they had their jobs heading into the weekend included top prosecutors in Philadelphia, Tampa, Arizona, Oregon, and western Texas.

While it’s become common for a new administration to dismiss the US attorneys appointed by a prior president, the manner in which Trump has done so has departed from the past in several ways—including by not coordinating with DOJ headquarters and terminating court-appointed prosecutors.

But shutting off their devices, whether done intentionally or not, marked an alarming new step, two people said. The US attorneys are responsible for the federal response to threats, including coordinating with state and local law enforcement and signing off on court filings.

The impacted US attorneys have been attempting Saturday to get clarity about the situation and thus far have been unsuccessful, the people said.

DOJ spokespeople didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who the US attorneys report to, has made a series of moves in the administration’s opening weeks to seize tighter control of field operations. That includes ordering US attorneys to come up with a list of prosecutors to be reassigned to border districts, Bloomberg Law reported last month.

Bloomberg Law also reported that DOJ headquarters gave all US attorneys two business days to explain why prosecutors they’ve hired in the past two years who aren’t focused on Trump priorities such as immigration and public safety should be retained.