The pinnacle of the prison division in Washington, D.C.’s U.S. lawyer’s workplace resigned in protest on Tuesday, after she mentioned she was directed to improperly freeze belongings that had been granted throughout President Joe Biden’s administration, the Washington Publish reported.
Denise Cheung mentioned in a letter to U.S. Legal professional Ed Martin that she was ordered by the Deputy Legal professional Common’s workplace to freeze $20 billion in grants for “climate and clean energy projects,” the Washington Publish reported.
Nonetheless, the Washington Publish reported that the Justice Division can solely freeze belongings “when it has evidence suggesting the assets can be traced to a crime.” And Cheung didn’t consider a criminal offense had occurred.
Certainly, newly minted Environmental Safety Company Administrator Lee Zeldin posted on X about desirous to cancel the Greenhouse Fuel Discount Fund that might give grants to tasks to struggle local weather change.
“Roughly $20 billion of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution by the Biden EPA,” Zeldin mentioned in a video posted to X, accusing the fund of being akin to tossing “gold bars off the Titanic.”
So it seems that as a result of Zeldin couldn’t simply cancel this funding unilaterally, he wanted to make use of improper avenues to freeze it as an alternative.
Cheung is now the newest federal prosecutor to resign in protest from the Trump administration after refusing to hold out a directive considered as illegal or unethical.
Seven senior DOJ officers resigned final week after they refused a directive from then-acting Legal professional Common Emil Bove to drop the prosecution of New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams, who was indicted for promoting his affect to international nationals.
In a scathing resignation letter, Danielle Sassoon—who ran the workplace main Adams’ prosecution—mentioned Bove’s demand that she drop the case towards Adams was, “an improper offer of immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case.”
When the DOJ then requested different prosecutors to drop the case, 5 extra resigned in protest.
Hagan Scotten, one other one of many DOJ officers who resigned, wrote in a resignation letter, “any assistant U.S. attorney would know that our laws and traditions do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials, in this way. If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me.”
In accordance with the Washington Publish, it was additionally Bove who made the demand to Cheung that she freeze these EPA belongings.
The spate of resignations is the newest signal that Trump is weaponizing the DOJ towards his enemies, as he is promised to do a number of occasions up to now.
As Day by day Kos reported on Monday, the DOJ is now doing issues on the behest of Trump, as an alternative of merely serving the American folks.
For now, prosecutors are resigning reasonably than perform Trump’s plans. However what occurs when the moral prosecutors are rooted out and all that is still are the sycophants and wimps who’re too afraid to face as much as clearly improper calls for?
As Lisa Neeham wrote for Day by day Kos, “unvarnished, unrestrained authoritarianism feels right around the corner.”
