Sessions asks for resignations of 46 US attorneys appointed by Obama

The top federal prosecutor in Nevada is expected to step down imminently following a Trump administration request Friday for the resignation of 46 U.S. attorneys appointed by Barack Obama.

The resignation request presents a case of professional deja vu for U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden, who is all too familiar with the predictable Washington politics that can drive hirings and firings of chief federal prosecutors across the country.

Bogden first was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001, and booted from office in 2007 as part of a controversial, midterm dismissal of seven U.S. attorneys.

Critics at the time blasted the firings as political retaliation by Republicans following Democrats’ sweep of congressional elections the previous fall. Bogden later said he did not ever learn why he was among those singled out.

It was not, however, the end of the road for Bogden. In 2009, President Barack Obama reappointed him to his former post overseeing federal law enforcement in the state of Nevada.

Since President Donald Trump’s election, people in local legal circles have speculated that the days were numbered for Bogden, a 14-year veteran of the office. The midterm firings in 2007 were considered unprecedented, but beginning-of-term purges are expected when a new political party takes over in Washington, and brings with it a new set of priorities in law enforcement strategy and use of prosecutorial resources.

SESSIONS REQUESTS RESIGNATIONS

That speculation was confirmed Friday, when U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions requested that all U.S. attorneys nominated by Obama resign.

“As was the case in prior transitions, many of the United States attorneys nominated by the previous administration already have left the Department of Justice,” the Justice Department’s Office of Public Affairs said in an emailed statement Friday. “The attorney general has now asked the remaining 46 presidentially appointed U.S. attorneys to tender their resignations in order to ensure a uniform transition. Until the new U.S. attorneys are confirmed, the dedicated career prosecutors in our U.S. attorney’s offices will continue the great work of the department in investigating, prosecuting, and deterring the most violent offenders.”

In Nevada, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre is in line to take over, at least in the interim, until President Trump formally nominates a candidate. Myhre is the lead prosecutor in the high-profile case against the Bundy family ranchers and their supporters.

Carl Tobias, a federal legal expert and former UNLV law professor, said that Sessions’ request was “fairly typical” for a new administration. He mentioned, however, that Obama took a “more careful” approach in realizing that he could not replace all 93 U.S. Attorneys at once.

‘VALUABLE EXPERTISE’ LOST

“To me, that’s a better practice in terms of continuity. … It’s not like they’ve got nominees who are going to be confirmed tomorrow and take the jobs permanently,” said Tobias, who now teaches at University of Richmond law school. “It can be disruptive. … You lose some of that valuable expertise and just plain resources to handle the caseload.”

It was not immediately clear Friday when Bogden will turn in his resignation. The U.S. attorney’s office in Nevada directed all questions to the main office in Washington, D.C.

The request for Bogden’s resignation comes amid two ongoing trials to which the office has devoted significant resources.

The first is the three-part Bunkerville standoff trial against the Bundy family and their supporters, who are charged with conspiring to block federal authorities from rounding up cattle in 2014.

The second is the trial of a 93-year-old doctor, his medical assistant and a local pharmacist who collectively are charged with distributing large quantities of oxycodone through an illegal prescription drug ring. The 2011 indictment against Dr. Henri Wetselaar was the result of numerous prescription painkiller investigations the office pursued in the late 2000s — long before opiate abuse became a top federal law enforcement priority during the final years of Obama’s second term.

“I think Harry Reid did the right thing in installing him in the Obama years,” Tobias said of Bogden. “He’s done a nice job and had a chance to resuscitate his reputation.”

Then again, Tobias said, “I do think he’s a veteran of these crazy shifts, so he probably expected it.”

Contact Jenny Wilson at jenwilson@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Follow @jennydwilson on Twitter.