Washington Post: DOJ watchdog investigating the resignation of the US Attorney from Atlanta

In the newspaper, referring to people familiar with the matter, it is reported that the investigation by Inspector General Michael Horowitz appears emerging, pointing out that investigators did not speak to Pak and that the boundaries of the investigation remain unclear.

A spokesman for the Inspector General’s office declined to comment when CNN reached out. Pak declined to comment.

Pak, a Trump nominee who has served in the office since 2017, abruptly left his job on Jan. 4 as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, which includes Atlanta and Fulton County, citing “unforeseen circumstances” in a memorandum to the staff. Pak’s departure follows the outburst during a phone call last weekend in which Trump put Republican Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger under pressure to “find” votes in the state election, which he told President Joe Biden lost, to stop.
In the audio of the call obtained by CNN and first reported by the Post, Trump is also heard with unfounded allegations about the state election, and at one point, when he questions the audit of ballot papers, says he for Raffensperger: American lawyer there, ‘without mentioning a name. The comment apparently refers to Pak.

Trump, in turn, ordered a U.S. attorney from southern Georgia to take over the office in Atlanta, in an unusual move. The Department of Justice has said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia Bobby Christine, who is also a Trump nominee and has been in office since 2017, will take over as acting chief in Atlanta and handle both roles. The office of Atlanta’s top assistant attorney, Kurt Erskine, would normally have assumed the acting U.S. attorney role, but was transferred.

Two people familiar with the matter told the Post in a story from a senior Justice Department official in Washington who told Pak he should resign. Trump was angry about what he saw as the department’s insufficient pursuit of its unfounded allegations over the election of Georgia and the country in general, people familiar with the matter at the time said.

As CNN reported earlier, there were no credible allegations about any issues with the vote that would affect the election, as confirmed by dozens of judges, governors, election officials, the Electoral College, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Justice. high Court.

Law firm Alston & Bird announced Thursday that Pak will return to the firm in February as a partner in its Litigation & Trial Practice Group in Atlanta. Pak was previously a litigation partner at Alston & Bird and began his private practice career there in 2000, according to a news release from the firm.
In a statement from the Justice Department announcing his resignation earlier this month, he said he was grateful to Trump for the opportunity to serve and thanked former Attorney General William Barr and Jeff Sessions.

“It was the greatest honor of my professional career that I was able to serve my fellow citizens as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia,” he said. “I have done my best to be considerate and consistent and to do justice to my fellow citizens in a fair, effective and efficient manner.”

CNN’s Katelyn Polantz, Evan Perez, Chandelis Duster and Kelly Mena contributed to this report.

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