Florence T. Nakakuni, Hawaii’s U.S. attorney, has been asked to hand in her resignation by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Justice Department said Friday.
Nakakuni, head of the Hawaii District since September 2009 and the first woman to serve as the state’s top-ranking federal law enforcement official, is among 46 U.S. attorneys appointed by former President Barack Obama who have been asked to leave their posts, Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said.
Nakakuni could not be reached for comment.
Elsewhere the mass dismissal has been criticized by Democrats as ineptly handled and having the possibility of interrupting ongoing cases and investigations.
In a statement, Sarah Isgur Flores, director of the Justice Department’s Office of Public Affairs, said the call for resignations is aimed at ensuring a uniform transition.
Flores indicated the move is not unusual as demonstrated by prior presidential transitions. In fact, she said, many of the federal prosecutors who were nominated by Obama have already left their positions.
“Until the new U.S. attorneys are confirmed, the dedicated career prosecutors in our U.S. Attorney’s offices will continue the great work of the department in investigating, prosecuting, and deterring the most violent offenders,” she said.
As U.S. attorney, Nakakuni represents the United States in all civil and criminal cases in Hawaii. There are 94 U.S. attorneys representing federal districts across the country and the U.S. territories.
Generally speaking, federal prosecutors are usually recommended for appointment by a home-state senator, and their priorities are expected to align with the attorney general.
In this case the timeline for transition for each district is unclear. It’s also uncertain whether the request for resignations means Sessions will accept all of them.
The Obama administration allowed political appointees of President George W. Bush to continue in office until their replacement had been confirmed.
Nakakuni replaced Ed Kubo, who was appointed by Bush.
Prior to her appointment, Nakakuni worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in Hawaii since 1985, serving most recently as chief of the Organized Crime and Narcotics Section in the Criminal Division for four years.
She previously served as a lawyer in the Navy Office of General Counsel at Pearl Harbor and as an attorney-adviser for the Office of Information and Privacy Appeals at the Department of Justice.
Once a law clerk for Associate Justice Thomas Ogata of the Hawaii Supreme Court, Nakakuni graduated from the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law in 1978. She is a graduate of Kaimuki High School.
