Vermont’s United States attorney, Eric Miller, has resigned from the post effective February 10, his office announced in a news release Friday morning.
Miller was a holdover from former president Barack Obama’s tenure and was likely to be replaced by President Donald Trump. The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Miller in 2015 after Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) recommended him for the position.
“Serving as Vermont’s United States Attorney has been the highest honor of my career, and I am grateful for the trust placed in me by President Obama, Senator Leahy and the people of Vermont,” Miller said in a statement.
The statement notes Miller’s dedication to civil rights and the protection of immigrants and refugees — perhaps a not-so-subtle jab at his current boss’ executive order barring refugees from entering the country. The statement even quotes former acting U.S. attorney general Sally Yates, whom Trump fired on Monday after she publicly defied his order.
“Although much of our most important work involves prosecuting people who break the law, we are not just the Department of Prosecutions, or even the Department of Public Safety. We are the Department of Justice,” Miller said, of the “core mission” of the office as Yates described it to him.
In a statement about the announcement, Leahy said Miller “has demonstrated exceptional leadership in tackling our state’s most serious challenges.”
“His ability and his energy in bringing together federal, state and local agencies in Vermont to address the heroin and opioid epidemic have yielded impressive results,” Leahy said. “He is a man of absolute integrity, and his commitment to uphold civil rights has been another hallmark of his time in office.”
Among Miller’s supporters is Islam Hassan, the imam at the Islamic Society of Vermont in Colchester. Hassan, in the statement supplied by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, applauded Miller and his colleagues for working to “build bridges.”
“They have become familiar faces at our mosque, and we deeply appreciate their commitment to building relationships with our community,” the imam said.
Rutland Mayor Chris Louras, who came under fire last year for a plan to turn his city into a refugee resettlement site, said Miller “publicly voiced his strong support and committed the resources of his office to protecting all Rutland residents, including the newest among us.”
Two families of Syrian refugees, of an expected 25, arrived in Rutland before Trump’s order, which has quite possibly ended the resettlement program, Louras said last week.
Miller has not yet decided on his next job. A replacement has yet to be named.
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I am absolutely ecstatic with news of U.S. Attorney Eric Millers resignation. I have been imploring President Trump to fire Mr. Miller on Twitter as justice was never going to happen in the Brattleboro Retreat matter as long as Sen. Patrick Leahy was allowed to nominate the top federal prosecutor in Vermont. Mr. Miller and his predecessor, Tristram Coffin, both of whom refused to involve themselves despite vast evidence and computer data that doesnt lie. Additionally, despite a state fraud probe now in its 18th month by the Vermont Attorney Generals Office, Mr. Miller and Mr. Coffin before him had demonstrated very clearly they were not going to do anything about the Retreats behavior despite vast evidence to the contrary which I believe demands justice. Im particularly pleased that Senator Patrick Leahy wont be involved with the selection of the next United States Attorney for Vermont.
Why would he resign? We need him now more than ever!