Matthew Schneider Resigns As Detroit's U.S. Attorney

DETROIT (AP) — The chief federal prosecutor in eastern Michigan said he's leaving office on Feb. 1 to join a law firm.

U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider served for three years. Changes are common when a new president from a different party is elected.

"In the last three years, this team has overcome tremendous challenges, from the longest federal government shutdown in American history, to an enormous rise in violent crime, the greatest increase in civil unrest since 1967, and a global pandemic," Schneider said Thursday.

Schneider was appointed by the U.S. Justice Department and then nominated by President Donald Trump. Saima Mohsin will become acting U.S. attorney.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in eastern Michigan covers more than 30 counties, from the tip of the Lower Peninsula to the Ohio border.

Schneider recently announced a deal with the United Auto Workers to put a monitor in place after a series of corruption convictions in the union's senior ranks.

He sharply criticized Trump this week for releasing former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from prison, years before the end of his 28-year sentence for corruption. Kilpatrick was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office.