Overview
- Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White were locked out of government devices and told they were being placed on administrative leave shortly after filing the sentencing memo, according to multiple reports.
- The filing was in the case of Taylor Taranto, who was pardoned for his Jan. 6 conduct but was later convicted on 2023 hoax and firearms charges after livestreaming threats and showing up near Barack Obama’s Washington neighborhood.
- The original memo was marked on the court docket as “entered in error,” and prosecutors including Jonathan Hornok appeared on the case before a new submission was filed that removed mentions of Jan. 6 and of Trump’s social-media post.
- The initial memo sought a 27-month prison term for Taranto, and it remains unclear whether that recommendation or the revised filings will ultimately reflect the government’s position at sentencing before Judge Carl Nichols.
- The Justice Department has not provided an official reason for the personnel action; the filing also bore U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s signature, and she issued a statement declining to discuss personnel matters while emphasizing the office’s focus on threats and violence.