The U.S. attorney for Seattle late Wednesday night forcefully denied a story in The New York Times alleging Attorney General William P. Barr asked federal prosecutors to mull criminal charges against Mayor Jenny Durkan.
U.S. Attorney Brian Moran said he would be aware of such a probe, refuting a story published Wednesday afternoon in The Times.
“At no time has anyone at the Department communicated to me that Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan is, was, or should be the subject of a criminal investigation or should be charged with any federal crime related to the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP). As U.S. Attorney, I would be aware of such an investigation,” Mr. Moran said in a statement.
Mr. Moran said he had talked with Justice Department leadership about “protest activity devolving into violence, about federal interests implicated by the Capitol Hill Organized Protest, and about cases filed in this District regarding federal crimes.” But he insisted pursuing criminal charges against Ms. Durkan was not part of those discussions.
The Times reported Mr. Barr told federal prosecutors during a phone call last week to explore if Ms. Durkan could be charged criminally for allowing residents to establish a police-free zone.
Earlier this summer, left-wing demonstrators laid siege to Seattle’s Capitol Hill district, declaring it a police-free zone. The six-block neighborhood — dubbed CHAZ for Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone and later renamed CHOP for Capitol Hill Occupation Protest — quickly descended into violence. A pair of shootings in the neighborhood killed two Black teens.
After the shootings, Ms. Durkan ordered officials to end the autonomous protest zone.
Ms. Durkan slammed the attorney general in a tweet shortly after The Times was published online.
“This report is chilling and the latest abuse of power from the Trump administration. This is not a story about me. It’s about how this President and his Attorney General are willing to subvert the law and use the DOJ for political purposes,” she wrote.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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