President Donald Trump appointed 47-year-old career federal prosecutor Joseph Thompson in June to serve as the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota.
Thompson, who expressed an interest at the outset in combating “the shocking and unacceptable levels of fraud in our state government programs,” prosecuted numerous cases of social services fraud even after he was relegated to the status of assistant attorney following the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Daniel Rosen as the Gopher State’s top federal prosecutor.
Evidently Thompson wasn’t long for the role of second fiddle.
‘His prosecutorial record gives him the opportunity to take a political leap if he wants.’
Sources familiar with Thompson’s decision told the New York Times that Thompson was one of several federal prosecutors who quit on Tuesday.
People supposedly familiar with Thompson’s decision told the Times that he objected both to the alleged push by senior Justice Department officials for a criminal probe into anti-ICE activist Renee Good’s actions as well as to the DOJ’s refusal to loop state officials into its investigation into whether Good’s fatal shooting was lawful.
RELATED: Blocking ICE with ‘micro-intifada’: Good’s group taught de-arrest, cop-car chaos before her death
Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Thompson allegedly wanted the shooting investigated as a civil rights matter and was poised to investigate it in concert with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. His decision to work with the state agency was, however, reportedly overruled by DOJ officials.
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
While Thompson’s office has told multiple outlets that he would not be commenting on his resignation Tuesday, he told the Minnesota Star Tribune, “It has been an honor and a privilege to represent the United States and this office.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), who is now facing the threat of impeachment, said in response to the news that “Joe is a principled public servant who spent more than a decade achieving justice for Minnesotans. This is a huge loss for our state.”
“It’s also the latest sign Trump is pushing nonpartisan career professionals out of the justice department, replacing them with his sycophants,” added Walz.
This is certainly a different tune than Walz sang last week when the failed vice presidential candidate not only accused Thompson of defamation but suggested he “would have been let go by another administration.”
While Walz rushed to presume Thompson resigned on principle, there have long been rumors he has political ambitions outside the DOJ.
After being moved to the role of assistant attorney, Thompson told the Tribune in November, “I knew it was a temporary position, and at some point they would confirm my replacement, and when that happens, I’m gonna wake up the next day and figure out what to do with the rest of my life whether it’s in the office, outside the office, we’ll see.”
“Whether he chooses to pursue public office is entirely up to him,” David Schultz, professor of political science and legal studies at Hamline University, said at the time. “However, his prosecutorial record gives him the opportunity to take a political leap if he wants.”
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