OPINION:
The resignations of U.S. attorneys in the Southern District of New York is no loss to the world (“Trump instructs Justice Department to fire Biden-era U.S. attorneys,” Web, Feb. 18).
According to politicaldictionary.com, “’Potomac fever’ is the condition where a politician is gripped by a desire to stay in government, whether to make a change or for power’s sake.” In getting rid of Biden’s prosecutors, who were acting politically, President Trump is only following the precedent of other presidents. Bill Clinton, for example, fired all of George Bush’s U.S. attorneys in one day.
In my opinion, the ethical standard in New York’s Southern District is not high. Calling itself “the Sovereign District of New York” is nothing to be proud of and should be seen as sarcastic.
Trump was also right to close the whistleblower programs of the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Through Freedom of Information Act requests, Bloomberg has uncovered corruption in these programs to the tune of millions of dollars, issued in awards to ex-agency staff attorneys.
While he’s at it, Trump should also close Justice’s corrupt U.S. Trustee Program.
By the way, it is not believable that the Southern District prosecutors resigned over the dropping of the Eric Adams case. It is not clear what Adams did wrong and his supposed “corruption” appears to involve frequent flyer miles. It is a joke. Adams was targeted due to his race and independence.
ANDREW DELANEY
St. Louis, Missouri
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