Kelly Steps Down as Biden Starts Nominating Attorneys
The Justice Department is asking U.S. attorneys who were appointed by former President Donald Trump to resign from their posts – including Nebraska’s Joseph P. Kelly – as the Biden administration begins taking steps to transition to its own nominees.
Kelly announced his resignation Wednesday in a news release. His resignation is effective Feb. 28. He has served more than three years as the top federal prosecutor in the state.
Until President Joe Biden nominates a successor and that person is confirmed by the Senate, an acting attorney designated by the Department of Justice will lead the office.
“It has been a pleasure to work with the staff in the office and other members of the federal court system,” Kelly said.
While many federal prosecutors are stepping down at the Biden administration’s request, the U.S. attorney overseeing the federal tax probe involving Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, will remain in place. The acting attorney general, Monty Wilkinson, called U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who runs the federal prosecutor’s office in Delaware, and asked him to remain on the job, the official said.
The Justice Department has been investigating the finances of Hunter Biden, including scrutinizing some of his Chinese business dealings and other transactions. The tax investigation was launched in 2018, before the elder Biden announced his candidacy. Hunter Biden confirmed the existence of the investigation in December after a round of subpoenas was issued.
Separately, U.S. Attorney John Durham, who was appointed in October by then-Attorney General William Barr as a special counsel to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, will remain in that capacity.
The transition process, which happens routinely between administrations, is expected to take weeks and would apply to a few dozen U.S. attorneys who were appointed by Trump and confirmed by the Senate.
It’s fairly customary for the U.S. attorneys to leave their positions after a new president is in office, but the departures are not automatic and don’t necessarily happen all at once. In 2017, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked for the resignations of 46 U.S. attorneys who were holdovers from the Obama administration.
The U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president and are generally nominated with a recommendation from a home-state senator. The 93 U.S. attorneys are responsible for overseeing offices of federal prosecutors and charged with prosecuting federal crimes in their jurisdictions.
Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo contributed to this report.
User login
Omaha Daily Record
The Daily Record
222 South 72nd Street, Suite 302
Omaha, Nebraska
68114
United States
Tele (402) 345-1303
Fax (402) 345-2351