{"id":99073,"date":"2026-07-21T18:18:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T22:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/seattles-court-appointed-federal-prosecutor-sues-trump-over-firing\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T18:18:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T22:18:15","slug":"seattles-court-appointed-federal-prosecutor-sues-trump-over-firing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/seattles-court-appointed-federal-prosecutor-sues-trump-over-firing\/","title":{"rendered":"Seattle’s Court-Appointed Federal Prosecutor Sues Trump Over Firing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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WASHINGTON \u2014 The federal prosecutor for Seattle who was dismissed by President Donald Trump last week has taken legal action against the administration, in a case that could define the boundaries of presidential power over court-appointed U.S. attorneys.<\/p>

Roger Rogoff filed his lawsuit in federal court in Seattle, arguing that Trump illegally removed him as the court-appointed U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington just moments after he assumed the role on July 15.<\/p>

At the heart of the lawsuit is a federal law that Rogoff says permits a court-appointed U.S. attorney to remain in the position until a presidential nominee is confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Rogoff is asking the court to declare his termination unlawful and affirm that he continues to hold the U.S. attorney position until a Senate-confirmed replacement is sworn in.<\/p>

Trump fired Rogoff \u2014 a former federal prosecutor and state court judge, and an attorney at the law firm Osborn Machler & Neff \u2014 just one hour after the chief judge of the Western District of Washington administered his oath of office.<\/p>

Rogoff responded with a sharp public statement: “The President’s actions violate the law, and they ignore the protections of the Constitution of the United States. His removal of me, like his removal of other court-appointed U.S. Attorneys across the country, is illegal and cannot stand.”<\/p>

The Justice Department pushed back, issuing a statement that said the district court “did not coordinate with DOJ on this selection. Consistent with other firings of this type, this is wholly within the President’s authority.”<\/p>

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche also weighed in via social media last week, writing: “District court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them.”<\/p>

Rogoff had been appointed to the position after the U.S. attorney’s office had gone without a Senate-confirmed nominee to lead it. Donald Verrilli Jr. of the law firm Munger Tolles is representing Rogoff but did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The top federal prosecutor in Seattle, appointed by judges to fill a vacancy, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration after being fired just one hour after taking office. Roger Rogoff argues that federal law protects court-appointed U.S. attorneys from presidential removal until a Senate-confirmed successor is in place. The case raises significant constitutional questions about the limits of presidential authority over court-appointed officials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":99072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[833],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1784672294252.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-pLX","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":96217,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/trump-fires-court-appointed-seattle-prosecutor-within-hour-of-swearing-in\/","url_meta":{"origin":99073,"position":0},"title":"Trump Fires Court-Appointed Seattle Prosecutor Within Hour of Swearing-In","author":"Admin","date":"July 15, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"President Trump dismissed the newly appointed top federal prosecutor in Seattle on Wednesday, less than an hour after federal judges unanimously named him to the post. Roger Rogoff was sworn in, walked to his new office, and received an email terminating him before he could even meet with his predecessor.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1784169083495.jpg?fit=1000%2C653&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1784169083495.jpg?fit=1000%2C653&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1784169083495.jpg?fit=1000%2C653&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1784169083495.jpg?fit=1000%2C653&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41393,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/federal-judge-names-new-nj-prosecutor-after-trump-picks-disqualified\/","url_meta":{"origin":99073,"position":1},"title":"Federal Judge Names New NJ Prosecutor After Trump Picks Disqualified","author":"Admin","date":"March 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A federal judge has appointed Robert Frazer as New Jersey's U.S. attorney following a legal dispute that led to the disqualification of several Trump administration appointees. The conflict began when Trump's initial choice, former personal attorney Alina Habba, was barred from the position for serving too long without Senate confirmation.","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1774301834582.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1774301834582.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1774301834582.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1774301834582.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":66453,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/federal-appeals-court-to-review-trumps-challenge-against-four-major-law-firms\/","url_meta":{"origin":99073,"position":2},"title":"Federal Appeals Court to Review Trump’s Challenge Against Four Major Law Firms","author":"Admin","date":"May 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Trump administration is asking a federal appeals court to restore executive orders targeting four prominent law firms after lower courts ruled the measures unconstitutional. 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