Overview
- Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White were placed on administrative leave and locked out of government devices hours after filing a sentencing memo in Taylor Taranto’s case, multiple outlets reported.
- The memo recommended a 27-month sentence and briefly stated that “thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters” attacked the Capitol, noting Taranto promoted conspiracy theories afterward.
- The Justice Department withdrew the document as “entered in error,” and new prosecutors, including Jonathan Hornok, later filed appearances in the matter.
- Taranto, pardoned for his 2021 conduct but convicted in May on firearms and hoax‑threat charges tied to his 2023 arrest near Barack Obama’s home, is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.
- Officials have not provided a reason for the leave actions; Reuters reports the move aligns with a broader wave of reassignments and dismissals since the administration’s return, affecting more than 200 personnel.