Top DC Prosecutor Demotes Senior Leaders

The top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., demoted several senior leaders to entry-level positions on Friday as the shakeup of one of the Justice Department's most crucial offices continued, according to three sources and an email seen by Reuters.

Ed Martin, the interim U.S. Attorney in charge of the Justice Department's Washington office, told top leaders in the fraud, public corruption, and civil rights section that they will be assigned to handle relatively low-level cases.

"I must assign attorneys where I assess there is need and where I believe each can contribute," Martin wrote in an email seen by Reuters. "Therefore, I am assigning you to Misdemeanors effective immediately."

Martin added that the moves were "temporary," but did not elaborate. Those demoted include Kathryn Rakoczy, one of the lead prosecutors who secured convictions against several members of the Oath Keepers group for plotting to use force to help President Donald Trump remain in power after he lost the 2020 election, the sources said.

Also demoted was Elizabeth Aloi, who prosecuted former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro for defying a congressional subpoena.

Martin told them they will be reassigned to entry-level jobs, either by serving as line prosecutors or processing new cases and handling warrant requests, said the sources, who spoke anonymously because the personnel moves are not public.

"People can be fairly described as utterly shocked," one of the sources told Reuters, saying the people targeted were keeping the office afloat. The office, the source added, was in "chaos."

Martin's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The fraud, public corruption and civil rights section of the office handles politically sensitive investigations involving government officials, as well as police misconduct prosecutions.

Martin, who worked to advance Trump's claims of a stolen 2020 election and admitted to being present during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, has threatened investigations of members of Congress for political rhetoric and announced plans to open criminal investigations at the behest of Elon Musk.

Martin's top criminal chief, Denise Cheung, resigned this month after she said she was pressured to launch a criminal probe and freeze assets of a grant awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency during Democrat President Joe Biden's tenure.

The demotions come several weeks after more than a dozen probationary federal prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutions were fired specifically for that work.