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Biden Forces Out Prosecutor Investigating Powerful Democrats

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President Joe Biden is getting bipartisan backlash for forcing a federal prosecutor in Illinois to resign.

U.S. Attorney John Lausch was appointed in 2017 by former President Donald Trump, and is being asked to leaving his position along with all but two Trump attorney appointees by the end of this month, The Washington Free Beacon reported.

Lausch was assigned to prosecute the allies of Illinois’ notorious Democratic state legislator, Mike Madigan.

Madigan ended his decades-long political career after resigning Thursday, driving more scrutiny on Biden’s decision to fire Lausch, who could have easily been asked to stay in his job.

While the move naturally created criticism from Republicans, some Democrats have also fought back against it.

Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin of Illinois released a joint statement on Feb. 9 expressing their disagreement:

“While we agree with the Biden Administration’s criminal justice agenda, we are disappointed with the decision to terminate U.S. Attorney Lausch without consulting us.  In 2017, our non-partisan screening committee gave its support for Mr. Lausch to serve in this position, and the Senate confirmed him unanimously,” the release said.

“While the President has the right to remove U.S. Attorneys, there is precedent for U.S. Attorneys in the Northern District of Illinois to remain in office to conclude sensitive investigations.  We believe Mr. Lausch should be permitted to continue in his position until his successor is confirmed by the Senate, and we urge the Biden Administration to allow him to do so.”

However, the White House suggests that this is a normal protocol.

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“This was an across the board transition, with only one exception in keeping a U.S. attorney in place in their district, in line with how previous administrations addressed this issue,” they told the Beacon.

When you have both Democrats and Republicans saying this is the wrong choice, Biden needs to listen up.

Although it may be standard for appointees to resign at the start of a new presidential administration, Lausch being in the middle of serious work to potentially expose political corruption should be a noteworthy exception.

Should the prosecutor stay on the job?

The White House should at least consider Duckworth and Durbin’s suggestion of letting him stay in his position until there is a new appointee to assure that this investigation does not fall through the cracks.

Political corruption, whether it is Democrats or Republicans, needs to be taken seriously, but the Biden administration might want to let their own side off the hook.

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Cameron Arcand is a former writer for The Western Journal.
Cameron Arcand is a political commentator based in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2017 as a school project, he founded YoungNotStupid.com, which has grown exponentially since its founding. He has interviewed several notable conservative figures, including Dave Rubin, Peggy Grande and Madison Cawthorn.

In September 2020, Cameron joined The Western Journal as a Commentary Writer, where he has written articles on topics ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic, the "Recall Gavin Newsom" effort and the 2020 election aftermath. The "Young Not Stupid" column launched at The Western Journal in January 2021, making Cameron one of the youngest columnists for a national news outlet in the United States. He has appeared on One America News and Fox 5 DC. He has been a Young America's Foundation member since 2019.
Location
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English




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