Two U.S. prosecutors suspended after describing Jan. 6 attack as carried out by a ‘mob’
The Justice Department has placed two federal prosecutors in Washington State on leave a day after they filed a document in court that referred to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol as a “riot” carried out by a “mob,” two people familiar with the matter said.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White were told they were being suspended just hours after they submitted a sentencing recommendation in a case against Taylor Taranto, a Washington state man accused of participating in the Capitol attack who is now facing sentencing for unrelated weapons charges, according to the people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
Although Valdivia and White were the primary signatories to the sentencing memo in Taranto’s case, the document also bore the name of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who was nominated for the role by President Donald Trump.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White were told they were being suspended just hours after they submitted a sentencing recommendation in a case against Taylor Taranto, a Washington state man accused of participating in the Capitol attack who is now facing sentencing for unrelated weapons charges, according to the people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
Although Valdivia and White were the primary signatories to the sentencing memo in Taranto’s case, the document also bore the name of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who was nominated for the role by President Donald Trump.
