https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/dec/30/matthew-graves-d-c-top-prosecutor-resign-donald-tr/?
U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, the District’s top prosecutor who led the charge to jail Jan. 6 defendants, said Monday he will step down shortly before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office.
He has weathered criticism for being soft on crime during a D.C. crime wave and for his role in allowing the statute of limitations to run out on some of Hunter Biden’s alleged crimes.
Mostly, his claim to fame is bringing charges against roughly 1,600 people connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, with more than 1,000 of them already sentenced.
“Serving as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has been the honor of a lifetime,” said Mr. Graves, who thanked President Biden for nominating him and Attorney General Merrick Garland for “placing his trust in me.”
Mr. Graves said he will formally resign Jan. 16, four days before Mr. Trump takes the oath of office.
Bridget Fitzpatrick, the principal assistant U.S. attorney, will take over the office that has the unique role of prosecuting both local and federal crimes in the nation’s capital.
Mr. Graves’ announcement that he was quitting before Mr. Trump’s arrival was greeted with howls from MAGA supporters.
“The Swamp knows that justice is coming,” Rep. Andy Biggs, Arizona Republican, wrote on social media.
Mr. Graves has acknowledged that he declined a request to bring charges against Hunter Biden, who lived in the District at the time. The move contributed to the statute of limitations to expire on tax charges dating to his father’s time as vice president.
He said his office didn’t have time to “get up to speed on everything” in the case.
Mr. Graves is also known for being the District’s top prosecutor during last year’s generational spike in shootings, muggings and carjackings that threw the city into chaos.
His office’s refusal to pursue roughly two-thirds of the cases brought to prosecutors in fiscal year 2022 made Mr. Graves a frequent target for criticism from residents, city leaders and Republicans on Capitol Hill.
“You’re not doing your job, and I find it disgusting, frankly,” Rep. Byron Donalds, Florida Republican, told Mr. Graves during a May 2023 congressional hearing.
Mr. Graves made strides to reduce the declination rate the following year, but his office still did not prosecute more than half of the arrests made by Metropolitan Police in fiscal year 2023.
The District did see a massive drop in violent crime in 2024, with homicides on track to fall below 200 for the first time since 2020.
In announcing his resignation, Mr. Graves credited his office with helping bring about “the least amount of total violent crime [D.C.] has had in over 50 years.”
Federal prosecution data for the most recent fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, won’t be published until March 2025.
Mr. Graves first joined the office as a line prosecutor in 2007. He was sworn in as U.S. attorney in November 2021.
He also oversaw cases going after members of Iranian armed forces who targeted Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign and those involved in a murder-for-hire plot against former National Security Adviser John R. Bolton.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.