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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Top National Security Official Leaving Justice Department

The official leading the Justice Department's investigation into alleged ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia's meddling in the 2016 election is stepping down.

(CN) — The official leading the Justice Department's investigation into alleged ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia's meddling in the 2016 election is stepping down.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary B. McCord has told her staff at the department's national security division that she will leave later this month to pursue other opportunities.

A longtime federal prosecutor, McCord had been acting as head of the national security division since October.

The unit oversees cases involving terrorism, espionage, cybercrime and other national security threats. She joined that unit in 2014 after working in the U.S. Attorney's office for the District of Columbia for 20 years.

McCord's departure comes as several leadership positions within the department remain vacant.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions' picks for deputy and associate attorney general — the No. 2 and No. 3 officials at the Justice Department — still await Senate confirmation. In addition, the administration has not yet named replacements for the U.S. attorneys it forced to resign last month.

Categories / Government, National, Politics

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