Roger Rogoff is the latest in a series of judicially appointed U.S. attorneys to be ousted by the Trump administration from their posts but is believed to be the first of that group to sue over the removal. His action creates a first-of-its-kind court case that will test the Justice Department’s authority to fire federal prosecutors who are appointed by judges,
Rogoff was unanimously appointed to the job of U.S. attorney for western Washington by the federal judges in the district. But shortly after he was sworn in last Wednesday, he received an email from the Trump administration informing him that President Donald Trump had ordered his termination.
The lawsuit contends that the abrupt firing was unconstitutional and disregarded the authority of the judges of the district to name Rogoff to the job until the vacancy could be filled through a Senate-confirmed nominee. The complaint seeks a court order declaring that the firing “was unlawful and is void” and that Rogoff at least temporarily remains U.S. attorney.
“The President’s actions violate the law, and they ignore the protections of the Constitution of the United States,” Rogoff said in a statement issued through the law firm representing him. “His removal of me, like his removal of other court-appointed U.S. attorneys across the country, is illegal and cannot stand.”
