Murray resigns as acting federal attorney

Acting U.S. Attorney Julianne Murray resigned from her post Dec. 12, after she failed to get support from Delaware’s senators.

“Stability and protecting the integrity of our investigations is my only focus,” Murray said in a statement. “I cannot in good conscience allow my office to become a political football. The employees of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Delaware are dedicated, hardworking people that should be able to do their work without this distraction.”

She said she backs Ben Wallace for the position, an attorney who served as Murray’s first assistant during her time as acting U.S. attorney for the District of Delaware.

The Senate’s blue-slip tradition is flawed, Murray said, a system that requires a state's two U.S. senators to return a blue slip in order for a candidate to continue. 

“Sen. [Chris] Coons and Sen. [Lisa] Blunt Rochester refused to return a blue slip for political reasons, not performance reasons,” Murray wrote. “This is not about advice and consent. Because of this incredibly flawed tradition, I wasn't even considered by the Judiciary Committee, let alone the entire Senate.”

Coons said he and Blunt Rochester formed a commission to solicit and review applications for the U.S. attorney position, and they interviewed Murray earlier this year.

“Ultimately, I did not feel that Ms. Murray was the right person to lead the office, and had she been nominated for the permanent position, I would not have returned my blue slip,” he said. “I look forward to working with the District Court’s appointed U.S. attorney, Ben Wallace, and remain willing to work with the Trump administration to identify and confirm a mutually agreeable candidate.”

Blunt Rochester did not respond for comment before the Cape Gazette deadline.

Murray, who previously served as head of the state GOP, said she will continue to serve the Department of Justice in a different capacity. 

“The people that think they have chased me away will soon find out that they are mistaken,” she wrote. “I did not get here by being a shrinking violet. God has a plan, and my faith gives me the comfort that I do not need to know what that plan is. Onward.”