U.S. Department
of Justice
ON 500TH DAY OF TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, ATTORNEY GENERAL SESSIONS ANNOUNCES 311 NEW ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY POSITIONS
June 4, 2018 – On the 500th day of the Trump Administration, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Matthew D. Krueger announced that the Department of Justice is taking a dramatic step to increase resources to combat violent crime, enforce our immigration laws, and help roll back the devastating opioid crisis.
In the largest increase in decades, the Department of Justice is allocating 311 new Assistant United States Attorneys to assist in priority areas. Those allocations are as follows: 190 violent crime prosecutors, 86 civil enforcement prosecutors, and 35 additional immigration prosecutors. Many of the civil enforcement AUSA’s will support the newly created Prescription Interdiction & Litigation Task Force which targets the opioid crisis at every level of the distribution system.
“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.”
In the Eastern District of Wisconsin, two of these AUSAs will focus on violent crime and one AUSA will focus on affirmative civil enforcement, including cases involving illegal opioid distribution.
“We are grateful for additional prosecutors to confront the opioid epidemic and violent crime in our community,” said United States Attorney Krueger. “Last month, in a single weekend in Milwaukee County, at least six people died of drug overdoses. For many, addiction starts with prescription opioids. The new civil enforcement AUSA will reinforce our efforts to deter prescribers and pharmacies that distribute prescription opioids illegally. Violent crime rates are also far too high. The two new criminal AUSAs will bolster our campaign to prosecute aggressively the firearms offenses that disrupt neighborhood safety.”
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