Attorney General Sessions Announces 311 New Assistant United States Attorneys Press Release 6-4-18
Attorney General Sessions Announces 311 New Assistant United States Attorney Positions
Largest increase includes AUSA in Rhode Island to support the newly created Prescription Interdiction & Litigation Task Force
PROVIDENCE, RI – On the 500th day of the Trump Administration, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island Stephen G. Dambruch announced that the Department of Justice is taking a dramatic step to increase resources to combat violent crime, enforce our immigration laws, and help roll back the devastating opioid crisis.
In the largest increase in decades, the Department of Justice is allocating 311 new Assistant United States Attorneys to assist in priority areas. Those allocations are as follows: 190 violent crime prosecutors, 86 civil enforcement prosecutors, and 35 additional immigration prosecutors. Many of the civil enforcement AUSA’s will support the newly created Prescription Interdiction & Litigation Task Force which targets the opioid crisis at every level of the distribution system.
“Under President Trump’s strong leadership, the Department of Justice is going on offense against violent crime, illegal immigration, and the opioid crisis—and today we are sending in reinforcements,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “We have a saying in my office that a new federal prosecutor is ‘the coin of the realm.’ When we can eliminate wasteful spending, one of my first questions to my staff is if we can deploy more prosecutors to where they are needed. I have personally worked to re-purpose existing funds to support this critical mission, and as a former federal prosecutor myself, my expectations could not be higher. These exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime fighting partnership. This addition of new Assistant U.S. Attorney positions represents the largest increase in decades.”
In Rhode Island, the newly-allocated Assistant United States Attorney position will bolster the District’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement practice, handling, among other duties, opioid-related health care fraud and drug diversion maters. Using a variety of traditional investigative methods, data analysis, and close collaboration with state and federal law enforcement partners, the Office’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement and criminal Health Care fraud programs are critical tools in fulfilling the District’s and the Department’s commitment to address the impact of the opioid crisis, by focusing on illegal activity at every stage of the opioid supply chain from manufacturer, to pharmacy, to prescriber. The addition of this new Assistant U.S. Attorney position is a critical new resource in support of those efforts.