Two new assistant U.S. attorneys assigned to Idaho

Two new Assistant United States Attorneys will be assigned to Idaho to prosecute violent crime and civil anti-opioid issues.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the appointments are part of a nationwide campaign.”We have a saying in my office that a new federal prosecutor is ‘the coin of the realm.,” said Sessions. “When we can eliminate wasteful spending, one of my first questions to my staff is if we can deploy more prosecutors to where they are needed. I have personally worked to re-purpose existing funds to support this critical mission, and as a former federal prosecutor myself, my expectations could not be higher. These exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime fighting partnership. This addition of new Assistant U.S. Attorney positions represents the largest increase in decades.”

U.S. Attorney for Idaho Bart Davis has focused on reducing gun violence in the state through a program called “Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).” Davis said the new positions would help bolster federal prosecution of those who illegally possess or attempt to possess firearms, criminal gang members, and violent drug traffickers.

The program will use data analytics to help find evidence of over-prescribing and opioid-related health care fraud.

“They will provide our District with further federal prosecution resources aimed at reducing violent crime and attacking the opioid crisis in Idaho,” Davis said.”Our new civil enforcement AUSA will support the newly created Prescription Interdiction & Litigation Task Force, which targets the opioid crisis at every level of the distribution system, and will allow us to expand our efforts to combat health care fraud, including fraud involving medically unnecessary opioid prescriptions.”

The Idaho assistant U.S. attorneys will be headquartered in Boise and support the PSN program.