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

HAMMOND- On the 500^th day of the Trump Administration, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Northern District of Indiana U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II 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.”

The Northern District of Indiana received 4 new AUSAs from the above allocation, 3 to fight violent crime and 1 for civil enforcement.

US Attorney Kirsch said, “With these new Assistant U.S. Attorney positions, my office will commit even more prosecutorial resources to fighting violent crime and addressing the opioid crisis in the District.  Along with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively go after those who break the law and ensure that they are prosecuted for their crimes.”   

###