Wyoming U.S. Attorney Christopher Crofts Resigns
Wyoming U.S. Attorney Christopher A. "Kip" Crofts announced he will resign his position with the Department of Justice effective midnight today, according to a news release.
Crofts submitted his resignation the same day U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked for the resignations of 46 United States attorneys who were appointed during President Barack Obama's administration.
In a statement Friday, the Justice Department said the request was similar to ones made in past presidential transitions.
The department said many federal prosecutors appointed in the Obama administration have already left their positions, but that Sessions is now seeking the resignations of 46 holdovers.
According to the Wyoming U.S. Attorney's website, Crofts grew up in Lander, served in the Army in Vietnam and the Dominican Republic, and earned his law degree at the University of Wyoming. He worked for the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation until 1990 when he accepted an appointment as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He 2005, he accepted an assignment from the U.S. Justice Department to be a legal advisor on a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Iraq.
Crofts was nominated to be Wyoming U.S. Attorney in 2009, when the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed him. He took office in January 2010.
“It has been my distinct pleasure to work with the men and women of the Wyoming United States Attorney’s Office for the past seven years. I thank them and the law enforcement community for their tireless efforts in the pursuit of justice on behalf of the citizens of Wyoming and the United States,” Crofts said in the news release..
While asking for the resignations of U.S. Attorneys by a new administration is not unusual, the Associated Press reported Montana U.S. Attorney Mike Cotter said he was shocked by the unprofessional manner in which he and 45 other Obama appointees were asked to turn in their resignations by the end of the day.