Prosecutors suspended after calling Jan. 6 defendants 'mob of rioters’

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By Sara Merken

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The DOJ placed two prosecutors on leave today, hours after they referred to Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, as "a mob of rioters" in a sentencing memo, said four people familiar with the matter.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samuel White and Carlos Valdivia were placed on administrative leave and locked out of their government devices, one day before their scheduled appearance in federal court for Taylor Taranto's sentencing. Taranto was convicted on gun charges after driving to former President Obama's D.C. neighborhood in June 2023, shortly after then-former President Trump posted what he asserted was Obama's address online. ABC News first reported the moves.

Taranto had previously been charged for his role in the 2021 assault on the Capitol and was pardoned in January on Trump's return to the White House. He was one of nearly 1,600 people pardoned but remained incarcerated on the 2023 gun charges.

Trump and his allies have sought to play down the January 6 violence, decrying the prosecutions as a "national injustice."

White and Valdivia had asked U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in D.C. to impose a sentence of 27 months for Taranto.

They were not provided an official reason for their removal, which was carried out by the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, three of the people said. A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment and Reuters could not immediately reach the two attorneys for comment. Read more from Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward.

In New York: Wilson Sonsini hired energy and climate solutions partner Stanford Renas from Katten and brought on corporate finance partner Charles Gelinas from Dentons … DLA Piper added corporate partner Justin Michael from Davis Polk … Jones Day hired former DOJ national security official George Turner … Emerging companies and venture capital partner Jared Fine joined Davis Polk from Goodwin.

In D.C.: Susan Musser, former chief trial counsel in the FTC's competition bureau, moved to WilmerHale … Former CFTC associate director Dan Ullman joined Orrick … Mayer Brown hired former Wiley Rein partners John Prairie, who will lead its government contracts practice, and Ryan Frazee … Weil brought on national security partner Antonia Tzinova from Holland & Knight … Steptoe added AI governance and compliance partner Carl Hahn from Gentic Global Advisors … Burr & Forman tapped government contracts partner Kelsey Hayes from Holland & Knight … Michael Best hired antitrust and competition partner Amanda Wait from DLA Piper.

In London: Cleary Gottlieb hired real estate partner Stephen Nicolas from Paul Hastings and brought on competition litigation partner Raif Hassan from White & Case … Morrison Foerster added financial services and fintech partner Dan Jones from Orrick … Duncan Speller joined Duane Morris as co-chair of the international disputes group from Willkie.

Across other cities: Vialto Law added 30 immigration legal professionals in several cities from Seyfarth Shaw, including partners Mahsa Aliaskari and Jacob Cherry … Sullivan & Cromwell hired Los Angeles-based IP litigation partner Amy Proctor from Irell & Manella … K&L Gates picked up former Prolific general counsel Josh Lane in Nashville … Nelson Mullins tapped labor and employment partner Arturo Ross in Miami from Ogletree Deakins … Saul Ewing hired Boston-based IP partner John Powell from Sunstein … Class actions defense partner Christine Tran joined Jones Day in Sydney from Herbert Smith Freehills … Ogletree Deakins added employment litigator Paul Rinnan in Houston from David Weekley Homes … Lowenstein Sandler picked up insurance recovery partner Arthur Armstrong in New Jersey from Reed Smith … Squire Patton Boggs hired financial services partner Heather Rees in Dallas from K&L Gates … Ice Miller brought back transactions partner Amanda Morton in Indianapolis and Naples from Quarles & Brady … M&A partner Conor Larkin joined Hogan Lovells in Philadelphia and Houston from Morgan Lewis.

REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci

A federal prosecutor appointed by the Trump administration without Senate approval to serve as the acting U.S. attorney for California's central district, which includes Los Angeles, was named to that role unlawfully, a U.S. district judge ruled

The Tuesday ruling by U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright in Honolulu disqualifies Bilal Essayli from continuing to serve as acting U.S. attorney but leaves intact three criminal indictments brought during his tenure that were challenged by the defendants in those cases.

The decision came four weeks after another federal judge disqualified Nevada's federal prosecutor, Sigal Chattah, from supervising four criminal cases, ruling that she was not validly serving as acting U.S. attorney.

The latest ruling, if upheld on appeal, creates a leadership vacuum for the most populous U.S. federal judicial district, serving some 19 million people in seven counties in Central and Southern California. Read more from Steve Gorman.

The deadliest police operation in Brazil's history killed at least 132 people, public defenders said … Cable TV pioneer John Malone will step down as chair of Formula 1-owner Liberty Media and Liberty Global and become chairman emeritus … Hurricane Melissa barreled north of Cuba after thrashing the city of Santiago and isolating hundreds of rural communities while unleashing devastation in Jamaica and drenching Haiti … The federal government shutdown could cost the U.S. economy between $7 billion and $14 billion, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said … Nvidia made history as the first company to reach $5 trillion in market value. 

sara.merken@thomsonreuters.com

@saramerken

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