Washington — The head of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C, has resigned her post, the latest in a string of Justice Department officials to leave under the Trump administration.
In an email obtained by CBS News, Denise Cheung notified her colleagues Tuesday morning that she is stepping down. “I took an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution and I have executed this duty faithfully during my tenure, which has spanned through numerous Administrations,” the email said.
Cheung did not specify a reason for her departure in her email.
Her decision follows a flurry of resignations by prosecutors in New York and officials at Justice Department headquarters last week, who stepped down to protest a directive from the acting deputy attorney general to drop the case against New York Mayor Eric Adams.
As leader of the criminal division at the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office, Cheung had sweeping oversight over national security cases, violent crimes prosecutions and other major investigations, including many of the cases related to the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Her resignation comes one day after President Trump announced he would nominate Ed Martin to become the U.S. attorney in the nation’s capital. Martin has been serving in the role in a temporary capacity since Mr. Trump took office.
Martin was a key figure in the “Stop the Steal” movement in 2020, and defended many Jan. 6 defendants. His social media posts have celebrated Elon Musk and other Trump allies since he has been in office, and he has vowed to investigate those who interfere with Musk’s work.
Martin has also helped expedite the closure of Jan. 6 cases, including those in which he once served as a defense lawyer. Multiple prosecutors in his office who worked on those cases were purged in the opening days of the Trump administration.
