White House officials reportedly lobbied the Department of Justice (DOJ) to pressure the former federal prosecutor in Atlanta to resign out of frustration that he would not investigate allegations of electoral fraud.
A senior Justice Department official, at the White House’s request, called former US Attorney Byung Pak on January 3 and told him President Trump
Donald Trump Kim said that North Korean efforts will focus on bringing the US to its knees Pelosi urges Democrats to prepare to return to DC this week amid impeachment accusations Ken Klippenstein: ‘Ideological’ blind spot prevented police from respond urgently to the riots at Capitol MORE he was furious at the lack of an investigation into allegations of electoral fraud, The Wall Street Journal reported. The DOJ official reportedly told him that Trump wanted to fire Pak.
Pak, appointed by Trump, announced his resignation the next day, writing to colleagues that he was proud to “work closely with our law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe”.
It is not uncommon for a federal prosecutor to leave his post before a new presidential administration is inaugurated, but Pak’s departure comes just weeks after the release of the audio of a call between Trump and the Republican state secretary of Georgia where the president is. heard pressing Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to win the November presidential election.
Critics said the call could be evidence of a potential crime.
In a separate internal memo, Pak said his departure was the result of “unforeseen circumstances”, the Talking Points Memo initially reported. Trump appointed Bobby Christine as the U.S. attorney for the Southern Georgia District on January 5.
Trump has been systematically attacking elections and law enforcement officials in Georgia since his defeat in the November presidential election, claiming that they are ignoring unproven allegations of widespread fraud that brought down the election in favor of Biden.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.