D.C.'s Top Lawyer Resigns
Washington D.C.’s top lawyer resigned Monday, reportedly amid growing frustration that the mayor was leaving key legal decisions to his general counsel.
D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer, who was spearheading the District’s defense of its gun ordinance in the U.S. Supreme Court, did not give a reason for her resignation, the Washington Post reports.
But the Post cites unnamed sources as saying Singer was increasingly frustrated that Mayor Adrian M. Fenty relied heavily on his general counsel, Peter Nickles, for important legal initiatives. In D.C., the attorney general represents the interests of the District while the general counsel represents the interests of the mayor.
Singer’s resignation is effective Jan. 5, according to her letter, printed in Washington City Paper.
Nickles has been named interim attorney general, the Post reports.
Updated 2:14 p.m. CST.
