The White House rapidly fired the new judicially appointed US attorney in Seattle, Roger Rogoff, setting up potentially the first legal battle over the executive branch’s termination authority for such prosecutors.
Rogoff, a veteran prosecutor and former Democrat-appointed state jurist, received a termination notice from the presidential personnel office Wednesday less than an hour after the Western District of Washington district court unanimously selected him as the Seattle area’s chief prosecutor, replacing the Trump administration’s term-expired pick.
The White House informed Rogoff in writing that, “The President of the United States has directed that I inform you that, pursuant to his authority under 28 U.S.C. 541(c) and Article II of the Constitution, you are hereby removed from the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington,” according to Justice Department spokeswoman Emily Covington.
In an interview shortly after he was fired, Rogoff said, “We’re considering all of our legal options.” He’s retained national firm HKM Employment Attorneys LLP.
“The president gets to choose his US attorney, but only with the advice and consent of the Senate,” added Rogoff, who was previously appointed by former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) as a King County superior court judge and director of the state’s office of independent investigations. “We have a situation that is untenable, not constitutional, and not legal.”
Influential lawyers practicing in Western Washington, whose seven active district judges were all appointed by President Joe Biden, were previously strategizing about the need for the court to select someone willing to sue Trump if and when they’re fired. That would be a more aggressive tack than in the Eastern District of Virginia and Northern District of New York, whose ousted court appointees didn’t litigate.
The calls for what would be a risky and contentious legal fight with DOJ headquarters were seen by some Seattle attorneys as necessary during a period when then-Attorney General Pam Bondi was appointing multiple Trump allies without prosecuting experience as temporary US attorneys, bypassing the Senate confirmation process. Whenever judges tried inserting a different US attorney, the White House rapidly fired them.
But since February, the administration’s relations with the judiciary on this issue have cooled down. In March, New Jersey’s chief judge reached an agreement with Blanche on appointing a veteran assistant US attorney in New Jersey to lead the office.
The Seattle developments Wednesday indicate the harmony in New Jersey may have been a one-off.
The administration installed an interim US attorney for Seattle, former immigration judge Charles Neil Floyd, last fall. But he’s since been downgraded to “first assistant” while still heading the office, after surpassing his 120-day maximum term. The judges opted against appointing him after 120 days, and Washington Sen. Patty Murray (D) has said she’d block Floyd if Trump were to nominate him.
But the president’s lack of nomination for anyone to lead the office triggered the court’s action, Western Washington Chief Judge David Estudillo said Wednesday.
“In 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,” the chief judge said in an order. “Mr. Rogoff has deep ties to the Western District of Washington and has devoted his career to serving its citizens.”
The order was issued while acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was testifying in a Senate confirmation hearing to assume the post permanently. The near-immediate termination follows through on Blanche’s social media warning to the Western Washington judges in March that he expected whomever they named would “suffer the same fate as” the handful of other recent judicial selections contrary to the president’s chief prosecutor choice.
In addition to the state-appointed roles, Rogoff has worked as a lawyer with Microsoft, a federal prosecutor focused on terrorism and violent crime in Seattle, and a King County senior deputy prosecutor.
“The rule of law requires that prosecutorial decisions remain free from political interference, and that lawful judicial appointments be respected,” Rogoff said in a statement from his firm, HKM. “I remain grateful for the confidence placed in me and proud of the career professionals who continue to serve the people of Western Washington.”
