John H. Durham, the U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut and special counsel appointed to investigate the origins of the inquiry into the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia, announced Friday he is resigning from the post after more than three years.
The resignation has been expected for weeks as the Biden administration has asked holdover U.S. attorneys appointed during the previous administration to resign.
But the U.S. Department of Justice is expected to have Durham continue in his role as special counsel. The lengthy investigation is examining whether officials in the Obama administration broke the law through their probe into interference in the 2016 election.
Outgoing Attorney General Bill Barr designated Durham as a special counsel in December. That move was seen as a way to keep the investigation ongoingdespite the transition of power at the White House.
The investigation has so far resulted in criminal charges for one person involved in Russia investigation. Former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith was sentenced to one year of probation after he was accused of altering an email used as evidence for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant.
Durham’s resignation goes into effect at midnight Sunday.
“My career has been as fulfilling as I could ever have imagined when I graduated from law school way back in 1975,” Durham said in a statement. “Much of that fulfillment has come from all the people with whom I’ve been blessed to share this workplace, and in our partner law enforcement agencies. My love and respect for this Office and the vitally important work done here have never diminished. It has been a tremendous honor to serve as U.S. Attorney, and as a career prosecutor before that, and I will sorely miss it.”
Durham’s career with the federal government spans more than 40 years. Before he was appointed interim U.S. attorney in 2017 and then permanently to the post in 2018, he worked as assistant U.S. attorney in Connecticut for 35 years, according to the release.
His prosecutions included “complex organized crime, violent crime, public corruption and financial fraud matters,” the release said.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Leonard C Boyle will take Durham’s seat as acting U.S. attorney.
“The Office will be in the extraordinarily capable hands of Len and our superb supervisory team who, together, guarantee that the proper administration of justice will continue uninterrupted in our district,” Durham said.
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