PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - U.S. Attorney Thomas Delahanty was ousted Monday while out of the office as part of the Trump administration’s effort to clean out the previous administration’s appointees.
Delahanty was out of the office when Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Friday that he was demanding the resignations of 46 prosecutors appointed by Republican President Donald Trump’s Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama. He will be cleaning out his desk instead of prosecuting cases upon his return.
Officials announced in Delahanty’s absence Monday that his first assistant, Richard Murphy, will serve as acting U.S. attorney until Trump names Delahanty’s successor.
Delahanty has been through this before, but it wasn’t this abrupt.
He was appointed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter to serve as U.S. attorney after George Mitchell was appointed to the judiciary. Delahanty later served as a Superior Court judge in Maine.
Delahanty confirmed Monday that Murphy would be handling the duties on an interim basis. He called the proceedings “routine” and declined further comment.
During his tenure, which began in June 2010, federal law enforcement agencies assisted state and local police in tackling Maine’s problem with prescription painkillers and pharmacy robberies, which clogged courts and tied up state and local law enforcement.
As the drug epidemic grew, Delahanty joined Maine Attorney General Janet Mills and Public Safety Commissioner John Morris in leading a task force aimed at addressing the abuse of heroin, fentanyl and other opioids, which caused a record number of overdose deaths in Maine.
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