Attorney General Sessions Announces New Assistant United States Attorney Positions

SALT LAKE CITY – Attorney General Jeff Sessions and U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah John W. Huber announced Monday that the Department of Justice is taking a dramatic step to increase resources to combat violent crime, enforce immigration laws, and help roll back the devastating opioid crisis. The announcement was made on the 500^th day of the Trump Administration.

In the largest increase in decades, the Department of Justice is allocating 311 new Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) to assist in priority areas. Those allocations are as follows: 190 violent crime prosecutors, 86 civil enforcement attorneys, and 35 additional immigration prosecutors. Many of the civil enforcement AUSAs will support the newly created Prescription Interdiction and Litigation Task Force, which targets the opioid crisis at every level of the distribution system.

Utah will get six attorney positions from the new allocations.  Three of these AUSAs will target violent crime prosecutions, two will focus on immigration crimes, and one will handle civil enforcement cases, Huber says.

“Under President Trump's strong leadership, the Department of Justice is going on offense against violent crime, illegal immigration, and the opioid crisis—and today we are sending in reinforcements,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “We have a saying in my office that a new federal prosecutor is 'the coin of the realm.'  When we can eliminate wasteful spending, one of my first questions to my staff is if we can deploy more prosecutors to where they are needed. I have personally worked to re-purpose existing funds to support this critical mission, and as a former federal prosecutor myself, my expectations could not be higher. These exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime fighting partnership. This addition of new Assistant U.S. Attorney positions represents the largest increase in decades.”

“President Trump and Attorney General Sessions have provided key positions to assist my office in carrying out our responsibilities in Utah.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah strives to be a high-performing office, with focus on productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness in administering justice.  Today’s announcement of these new positions may also be viewed as recognition of Utah’s successful efforts,” Huber said today. “We will put these positions to good use as we continue our commitment to reducing violent crime in Utah neighborhoods.”