D.C.’s Top Prosecutor Matthew Graves Announces Resignation Days Before Trump’s Inauguration

Matthew Graves, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, has announced his resignation effective January 16, just four days before President-elect Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated.

Graves, who played a pivotal role in the Justice Department’s (DOJ) investigation into the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, made the announcement in a press release on Monday.

“Serving as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has been the honor of a lifetime,” Graves said. He expressed gratitude to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton for recommending him, President Joe Biden for nominating him, and Attorney General Merrick Garland for entrusting him with the role.

Graves has held the position since November 5, 2021, after a long career as a prosecutor in the D.C. U.S. attorney’s office, where he started in 2007.

Graves’s tenure has been heavily shaped by his leadership in prosecuting cases related to the January 6 Capitol attack, an event Garland described as one of the DOJ’s “largest, most complex, and most resource-intensive investigations” in history.

Under Graves, his office has charged more than 1,500 defendants involved in the attack, utilizing extensive evidence, including tens of thousands of hours of video footage, cellphone data, and eyewitness testimonies. Of those charged, 996 individuals have pleaded guilty, and 255 were convicted by a judge or jury.

Trump has previously stated that one of his first actions upon returning to the White House will be to issue pardons for some of the individuals convicted in relation to the Capitol riot. Graves’s resignation comes as Trump prepares to reshape the DOJ, with several key appointments already announced.

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to serve as Trump’s attorney general, while two of Trump’s personal lawyers, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, will assume the agency’s second- and third-highest-ranking positions. Another Trump lawyer, D. John Sauer, has been tapped to serve as the U.S. solicitor general.

Beyond the January 6 investigations, Graves’s office has handled several high-profile cases during his tenure. These include prosecutions of climate activists who targeted priceless artwork and historical documents, such as an original copy of the Constitution, as well as demonstrators protesting the Gaza conflict who were charged with assaulting law enforcement and destroying federal property.

Graves also prioritized prosecuting politically motivated violence and destruction, which the DOJ said "rip at the fabric of our society."

Graves’s office oversaw significant cases against international threats, including the indictment of members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for a hack-and-leak operation targeting Trump’s 2020 campaign and a murder-for-hire plot against former national security adviser John Bolton.

His tenure also saw the largest financial seizure in DOJ history, recovering $3.6 billion in cryptocurrency stolen during the 2016 Bitfinex hack.

The announcement of Graves’s resignation emphasized his focus on defending democracy and prosecuting crimes that posed a threat to public order.

While Trump has yet to announce his pick for Graves’s successor in the D.C. attorney’s office, his planned DOJ appointments indicate a significant shift in the department’s leadership as he prepares for his return to the presidency.