- cross-posted to:
- politics@lemmy.world
- politics@sh.itjust.works
- cross-posted to:
- politics@lemmy.world
- politics@sh.itjust.works
Joe Thompson, the career U.S. Justice Department attorney best known for prosecuting social services fraud in Minnesota, has resigned along with other experienced attorneys at the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The move comes after top Justice Department officials pushed the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate the widow of Renee Macklin Good, the person shot and killed last week by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, MPR News has learned.
Thompson, 47, also objected to the DOJ’s decision to exclude the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from the investigation into the shooting and the department’s reluctance to investigate Ross, according to a person familiar with Thompson’s decision.
Veteran assistant U.S. attorneys Melinda Williams, Harry Jacobs, and Thomas Calhoun-Lopez also resigned. The prosecutors were also concerned that immigration enforcement is diverting resources away from prosecuting major fraud cases in the state.
Williams oversees the office’s criminal division. She helped to secure the sex trafficking conviction of former Minnesota Republican Party operative Tony Lazzaro and also prosecuted drug dealer Aaron Broussard, whom a jury found guilty in the fentanyl overdose deaths of 11 people.
Thompson had served as acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota and then first assistant U.S. attorney, taking on a higher profile the past few months as he announced charges against people allegedly stealing from federally funded programs in Minnesota.
MPR News is working now to confirm more details. Thompson’s office said he would not be commenting Tuesday on his resignation.
Newly appointed U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Dan Rosen did not respond to a request for comment on the resignations.
Justice Department officials in Washington have turned aside questions about whether Ross might face any charges in the shooting. “There is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation” of the shooting, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
On social media, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey lauded Thompson and the other prosecutors who resigned as heroes.
“The people pushing to prosecute Renee’s widow are monsters,” he added. “In their pursuit of cruelty, the administration also just set back the work of fighting fraud by pushing out the prosecutors who were working on those cases.”
Minnesota Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar also praised Thompson’s work as a fraud prosecutor, calling his resignation “a loss for our state and for public safety.”
“The DOJ’s politicization of the investigation into Renee Good’s killing is doing lasting damage to our justice system,” she added in a statement. “It needs to stop.”
Liberals are all cowards. They resign instead of doing anything with their power
That is what I was thinking too, guess he learned from Walz.
Cling to it and fight you fuckers. Make them fire you and drag it out with legal battles. I hate these losers
Seriously. The longer they’d stay and use their position to make a big deal out of it and be a roadblock the better.
But no, they resign and sure, there’s a bit of spotlight now, but they’ll be replaced by people who are more than willing to go with whatever Trump wants to do. Fucking worthless pieces of shit.
Idk how the fuck resigning is heroic, at least make them fire you but bet yet just do a really shitty job, like Riker when he had to argue that Data wasn’t sentient
Idk how the fuck resigning is heroic
Because america is a very aesthetically driven country, so sticking around tends to be a signal to normal people (aka, not us, not anyone terminally online, ect.) that they’re okay with something happening. Resigning is to most normal people the way you disagree with how things are being ran. Also if said person resigning has other ambitions, sticking around tends to end up having certain kinds of ads write themselves.
You shouldn’t be working for the US government in the first place.
resigning in protest depends on the institution you’re resigning from having shame. the US has none.
(apologies to Kwame Ture)
it feels like the people resigning don’t understand somehow that resigning only worked under a world order that never existed.
This is the only place online being sensible about this. Everywhere else are treating these people like heroes for resigning
Minnesota Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar also praised Thompson’s work as a fraud prosecutor, calling his resignation “a loss for our state and for public safety.”
Is… Is it Klobberin’ time yet? Asking for a friend who absolutely does not have a history of office supply-related violence
wish she’d throw staplers at ICE
The DOJ
'spoliticizationoftheinvestigationintoReneeGood’skillingis doing lasting damage to our justice systemIt needs to stop
That is all.
Surely the sternly worded letter will work THIS time 👀
Fucking quitter.







