By MEG KINNARD
The Associated Press
COLOMBIA (AP) – A veteran federal prosecutor has been appointed acting US attorney for South Carolina following the planned resignation of former President Donald Trump.
Rhett DeHart took over as South Carolina’s federal prosecutor, the Justice Department announced on Monday. He will serve in that position until a permanent replacement is appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the United States Senate.
“Having worked for two decades in the US Attorney’s Office, I am extremely honored and honored to serve as an interim US Attorney,” said DeHart, in a statement provided to The Associated Press. “I will continue to ensure that our office remains impartial in the application of the rule of law and committed to protecting the people of South Carolina, never giving criminals a safe haven here.”
As is typical of changes in presidential administrations, Peter McCoy said last month that he would resign from the United States attorney’s office starting February 28, after about a year in office, calling the position “the honor of my life” .
The Charleston Republican was elected to the House in 2010 and was chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He also previously served as a county-level prosecutor.
DeHart has been a federal prosecutor since 2001, previously overseeing the criminal, civil, appeal and administrative divisions as the United States attorney’s first assistant. His office said that DeHart has prosecuted hundreds of criminal cases, wrote 30 appeals and defended seven cases before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals for the United States.
As a US attorney, he will oversee an office of about 60 prosecutors and nearly 100 other employees in four divisions across the state.
Before becoming a federal prosecutor, DeHart was a lawyer on the United States Senate Judiciary Committee. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law and Honors College of the University of South Carolina.