{"id":7952,"date":"2026-07-21T22:36:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T22:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7952"},"modified":"2026-07-21T22:36:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T22:36:48","slug":"court-appointed-u-s-attorney-for-seattle-sues-over-firing-by-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7952","title":{"rendered":"Court-appointed U.S. attorney for Seattle sues over firing by Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roger Rogoff was removed by the White House last week less than an hour after federal judges named him the Seattle region\u2019s top federal prosecutor.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more On election meddling and China, Trump says \u2018we do things to them, too\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
King County Superior Court Judge Roger Rogoff in court in Seattle in 2016. (Ted S. Warren\/Ap Photo\/Ted S. Warren)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The Seattle region\u2019s court-appointed U.S. attorney, who was abruptly fired by the White House last week hours after the announcement of his new job, sued the Trump administration Tuesday, teeing up a consequential legal fight over the president\u2019s power to install loyalists in top prosecutorial roles without Senate approval.<\/p>\n

Roger Rogoff, a former federal prosecutor and King County Superior Court judge, was notified of his dismissal<\/a> July 15 less than an hour after a panel of district court judges unanimously appointed him to lead the U.S. attorney\u2019s office for the Western District of Washington.<\/p>\n

It was only the latest instance of the White House moving swiftly to terminate a U.S. attorney appointed by the courts \u2014 not the president \u2014 since Donald Trump\u2019s return to the White House last year. Administration officials have also abruptly fired judicially appointed prosecutors in New Jersey,<\/a> Alexandria, Virginia<\/a>, and Albany, New York<\/a> in recent months.<\/p>\n

But Rogoff\u2019s suit<\/a>, filed Tuesday in federal court in Seattle, is the first time one of those dismissed prosecutors has launched a legal challenge to their termination.<\/p>\n

Typically, U.S. attorneys, who wield broad prosecutorial discretion to pursue civil and criminal matters in their districts, are <\/b>nominated by the president and <\/b>must be confirmed by the Senate. However, when there is a long-term vacancy in the U.S. attorney role, federal law also empowers judges to select a candidate to serve in the position.<\/p>\n

In his complaint, Rogoff argues that because of the nature of his appointment, the Trump administration did not have the authority to summarily remove him. The only legal way for the president to replace him would be for him to formally nominate a new top prosecutor in the office and for that pick to be confirmed by the Senate, his lawyer contends. Trump has not nominated anyone to fill the role.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe President\u2019s actions violate the law, and they ignore the protections of the Constitution of the United States,\u201d Rogoff said in a statement. \u201cHis removal of me, like his removal of other court-appointed U.S. Attorneys across the country, is illegal and cannot stand.\u201d<\/p>\n

That claim will almost certainly be contested by the Justice Department, which has asserted the president has broad authority to select who he wants to fill key executive branch positions. A department spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday on Rogoff\u2019s suit.<\/p>\n

As Trump\u2019s U.S. attorney <\/b>nominees have faced headwinds in Congress, the president and the Justice Department have resorted to unorthodox maneuvers to keep the president\u2019s picks in their posts.<\/p>

Read more Appeals court upholds Peter Navarro\u2019s convictions for defying Jan. 6 subpoena<\/a><\/p>\n

Several U.S. attorney offices across the country \u2014 including those in Los Angeles; Nevada; and Albany, New York \u2014 are currently led by prosecutors the Justice Department installed first as interim U.S. attorneys, a job that is capped with a four-month term limit.<\/p>\n

When expiration dates for those picks came and went, the department reappointed many of them to the No. 2 positions in their respective offices while leaving the top job vacant. That move allowed them to effectively remain the top federal prosecutor in their regions.<\/p>\n

Such was the case in Seattle, when the Trump administration\u2019s pick for interim U.S. attorney, Charles Neil Floyd, a former immigration judge, saw his temporary term lapse earlier this year. He was reappointed as the Western District of Washington\u2019s first assistant U.S. attorney in February <\/b>and has continued to lead the office since.<\/p>\n

With the top role vacant, judges this month stepped in to select a U.S. attorney. Though courts frequently choose to reappoint a qualified interim pick to an extended term, the federal judges in the Seattle region opted to appoint Rogoff.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn view of the longstanding United States Attorney vacancy in this District, and to ensure the integrity and effective administration of justice in this District, the Court has unanimously decided to appoint a United States Attorney,\u201d the region\u2019s chief judge, David G. Estudillo, said in an order at the time. \u201cMr. Rogoff has deep ties to the Western District of Washington and has devoted his career to serving its citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

The White House dismissed Rogoff via email before the hour was out. As Rogoff\u2019s termination was playing out last week, acting attorney general Todd Blanche was in the midst of his own contentious Senate confirmation hearing as part of his bid to become the permanent head of the Justice Department.<\/p>\n

\u201cDistrict court judges can appoint a U.S. attorney and POTUS can fire them,\u201d Blanche said in a social media post later that evening.<\/p>\n

In his lawsuit Tuesday, Rogoff contends there were only two legal means for him to be removed from his position: Either the judges who appointed him could opt to remove him or a presidentially nominated replacement could be confirmed by the Senate.<\/p>\n

He asked the court to declare his firing unlawful and reinstate him as the head of the U.S. attorney\u2019s office.<\/p>

Read more All the problems with Trump\u2019s Qatari jet<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roger Rogoff was fired by the White House last week less than an hour after federal judges appointed him as the Seattle region\u2019s top federal prosecutor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nCourt-appointed U.S. attorney for Seattle sues over firing by Trump - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7952\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Court-appointed U.S. attorney for Seattle sues over firing by Trump - 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