Judge reinstates court-appointed U.S. attorney in Seattle after Trump firing
publishers 21articles 23first reported 1 Oct, 19:45 UTCdeveloping since 2 Oct · 8 editions
A federal judge on Thursday reinstated Roger Rogoff as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, ruling that President Donald Trump lacked authority to unilaterally remove a prosecutor appointed by the district court.
The district’s 17 active and senior judges unanimously selected Rogoff, a former judge and veteran prosecutor, after the administration failed to fill the position with a Senate-confirmed nominee. Rogoff took office on July 15, 2026, and Trump fired him less than an hour later.
U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian said federal law allows district judges to appoint a U.S. attorney “until the vacancy is filled,” rejecting the administration’s position that the president could remove Rogoff in the meantime. Bastian declared Rogoff the rightful holder of the office since taking his oath and barred the administration from obstructing his work, denying him office resources or treating anyone else as U.S. attorney.
The ruling also said Charles Neil Floyd, the first assistant U.S. attorney who had been leading the office, was improperly granted authority to perform the duties of U.S. attorney. Trump had issued an order directing Floyd to perform those functions.
The Justice Department said it disagreed with the ruling, would appeal and would seek an immediate halt to the decision. Trump nominated Simon Peter Serrano for the Seattle post last month, but Serrano has not been confirmed by the Senate.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 3 with the publisher's own text; 7 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 12 h after the record first saw the story; the editor revised it.
- Publishers
- 21
- Source articles
- 23
- Given to the writer
- 8, 3 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 7
- This version written
- 12 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- revised
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and changed it before publication. Struck words were in the draft; underlined words are its corrections.
WHAT IT FLAGGED editor revise: Correct the nominee's name to match the sources. - "Trump nominated Peter Serrano for the Seattle post last month, but Serrano has not been confirmed by the Senate.": The sources identify the nominee as Simon Peter Serrano or Pete Serrano, not Peter Serrano.
THE DRAFT AND THE CHANGES
Judge reinstates court-appointed U.S. attorney in Seattle after Trump firing
A federal judge on Thursday reinstated Roger Rogoff as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, ruling that President Donald Trump lacked authority to unilaterally remove a prosecutor appointed by the district court. The district’s 17 active and senior judges unanimously selected Rogoff, a former judge and veteran prosecutor, after the administration failed to fill the position with a Senate-confirmed nominee. Rogoff took office on July 15, 2026, and Trump fired him less than an hour later. U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian said federal law allows district judges to appoint a U.S. attorney “until the vacancy is filled,” rejecting the administration’s position that the president could remove Rogoff in the meantime. Bastian declared Rogoff the rightful holder of the office since taking his oath and barred the administration from obstructing his work, denying him office resources or treating anyone else as U.S. attorney. The ruling also said Charles Neil Floyd, the first assistant U.S. attorney who had been leading the office, was improperly granted authority to perform the duties of U.S. attorney. Trump had issued an order directing Floyd to perform those functions. The Justice Department said it disagreed with the ruling, would appeal and would seek an immediate halt to the decision. Trump nominated Simon Peter Serrano for the Seattle post last month, but Serrano has not been confirmed by the Senate.
Written by a language model from the sources above, then checked by a second model that may only cut, attribute or correct. How it works →