Jessie Liu resigns after nomination for Treasury post withdrawn: report

Former U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu has reportedly resigned from the Treasury Department after her nomination to a top job in the agency was withdrawn.

An administration official told CNN that Liu submitted her resignation to the Treasury Department, effective Wednesday evening. She had gone to the department with the intention of serving as Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes, a Senate-confirmed position, but that opportunity was no longer available after President Trump withdrew her nomination.

Liu had previously headed the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., inheriting many cases stemming from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, including those against Trump associate Roger Stone and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, a frequent Trump foil.

Trump officially withdrew her nomination for the Treasury Department job on Wednesday, raising concerns from Democrats that he was punishing her as political retaliation for investigating his allies.

A person familiar with the matter told CNN that the president was frustrated that Liu did not get more directly involved in the politically charged cases.

The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

The controversy over the withdrawal for Liu’s nomination comes as Trump goes after prosecutors and judges who have been involved in cases related to his associates.

All four prosecutors in Stone’s case resigned after the Department of Justice asked for a lighter sentence than what was recommended for lying to Congress and witness tampering. Trump also hammered D.C. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, whom Liu worked with, over her ruling in another case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

— This report was updated at 11:30 a.m.