Audio: Former U.S. Attorney Wrigley Says Complaints About Trump and Federal Prosecutors Are Partisan Politics

President Donald Trump has stoked controversy yet again, this time by asking for the resignation of dozens of Obama-appointed federal prosecutors.

One former U.S. Attorney here in North Dakota, albeit one who didn’t stick around in his job long enough to be canned by Trump, has been crying foul.

“I want to make it very clear, I don’t think this was handled well at all,” Tim Purdon told KX News. “I don’t think you say to folk, whether they’re career prosecutors or people who’ve never worked in the department before that have given public service. These are prosecutors that have been focused on, you know, taking apart drug cartels and prosecuting terrorists, domestic and foreign, they’ve been to the tip of the spear on public safety for many years. I think you want to honor that service and I think you know, a situation where you’re given a couple of hours to clear out, in the Obama administration, it wasn’t handled this way.”

[mks_pullquote align=”right” width=”300″ size=”24″ bg_color=”#ffffff” txt_color=”#000000″]He said the accusations were “just politics” and “not even very good politics.”[/mks_pullquote]

But former Lt. Governor Drew Wrigely, who was Purdon’s predecessor appointed by President George W. Bush, told me today that these complaints are just so much partisan griping.

“I don’t know where Tim got his information,” he said of Purdon’s complaints. “Tim knows better than that,” he added.

He said the accusations were “just politics” and “not even very good politics.” Wrigley said that when President Obama was elected he fully expected to be asked to resign and did so with the understanding that a new president has a right to appoint his/her own people.

He said having federal prosecutors who serve at the pleasure of the President is the “only way you can have a responsive Justice Department.”

Here’s the full audio of the interview:

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