US Attorney Walt Green Latest Federal Prosecutor To Step Down

All three of Louisiana’s US Attorneys have resigned or retired after US Attorney General Jeff Sessions called for mass resignations. Walt Green of Louisiana’s middle district is the latest to step down. East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore is disappointed because he says Green is the kind of prosecutor you want in a leadership position.

“Walt has been on the ground floor with us in everything that we’ve done here. Of all the successes we’ve had, he’s been an integral part. You don’t get a better person than Walt. He’s shown his loyalty, and proved his loyalty, to the country and not to a particular party,” Moore said.

Moore says Green is an Independent appointed to office by former-President Obama. He says it’s not unusual for a new administration, particularly one of a different party, to want their own people heading departments. But that didn’t stop him from sending a letter to President Donald Trump asking that Green be kept on board.

“It’s one that I couldn’t let pass without letting the President and the Attorney General know what I thought, and everybody unanimously thought, about Walt Green’s character and integrity,” Moore said.

Moore says Green received a letter Friday asking him to step down by Monday or he would be terminated. Lafayette area US Attorney Stephanie Finley and New Orleans-based US Attorney Kenneth Polite both announced their departure Friday. Moore says Green’s resignation could slow down the Alton Sterling investigation.

“With Sessions not even having a number two person nominated to my knowledge, I’m not sure how he can even get a handle on the various officer-involved shootings that that office is handling,” Moore said.