On 500th Day Of Trump Administration, Attorney General Sessions Announces 311 New Assistant United States Attorney Positions

On the 500^th day of the Trump Administration, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee 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 Middle District of Tennessee, three of these AUSAs will focus on violent crime, and one AUSA will be dedicated to civil enforcement.

“We are serious about reducing violent crime and confronting the opioid crisis head-on,” said U.S. Attorney Don Cochran.  “Under Attorney General Sessions’ leadership, we are getting back to the basics of enforcing our nation’s laws and removing violent offenders from our communities.  The addition of these prosecutors is long overdue and will enable our office to more effectively support our law enforcement partners at the state and local level.  These additional prosecutors will have a devastating effect on violent criminals who continue to operate in the Middle District and will also enable our office to hold those accountable who continue to fuel the opioid epidemic.” 

With these positions, five additional violent crime prosecutors have been added in the Middle District of Tennessee in the last six months.