CHARLESTON, W.V. — United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced he will resign as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia effective February 28, 2021. Stuart’s resignation letter to President Joseph Biden is as follows:
President Biden:
At your request, I hereby offer my resignation as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, which resignation shall be effective as of 11 :59 p.m. on February 28, 2021.
It has been my distinct honor to serve as a United States Attorney particularly because it was in service to the people of West Virginia. I’ve had a love affair with the people of West Virginia from my very first breath. It is a love affair that will continue to my very last breath and until I rest within the brilliance of God’s creation of these “Country Roads. ”
As the son and grandson of coal miners and as a West Virginian whose family has inhabited these hills and hollers long before the founding of the state, I have been blessed to stand on the shoulders of giants- dedicated hard working West Virginians- who made it possible for this “son of a coal miner” to become a United States Attorney. My family is my inspiration to the greatness of this remarkable country- family members like my grandmas Opal and Virginia and my personal heroes, my mom and dad. I am profoundly thankful to generations of my family on whose ‘blood, toil, tears, and sweat’ made my achievement possible.
My years as the United States Attorney has been a period of remarkable · and historic success. I have remained laser-focused on the opioid epidemic and its path of destruction throughout the Mountain State. There is not a city or town, not a school or a church, not a street or a home throughout the Southern District of West Virginia that hasn’t been personally impacted. I carry in my pocket each day the pictures of the victims of the opioid crisis- beautiful young people that fell victim to a diabolical scourge. It’s the faces from those pictures that truly haunt me in the silence of the dark of night. I have embraced moms and dads at the point of their greatest grief. As a dad and a husband, I mourn the loss of too many lives.
My achievements as a United States Attorney are too many to set forth in this letter of resignation but, I assure you, I am incredibly proud of the remarkable efforts of my team and my law enforcement partners. The successes are a result of the team, a remarkable team, that is as capable as any team in the nation. During my tenure,
- Confidence was restored in the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, a critically important court to commerce and the people of West Virginia.
- A region was made safer and a city was inspired to greater collective action as a result of the largest law enforcement operation in the history of the State of West Virginia, Operation Saigon Sunset.
- A most vulnerable population and the victims of elder fraud and elder scams were defended as never before including through the largest elder fraud tak:edown in West Virginia history with victims that spanned the globe.
- A landmark settlement was reached pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act between the Department of Justice and the State of West Virginia to expand and improve in-home and community-based mental health services throughout the State to better meet the needs of children.
- The operations of the United States Attorney’s Office were rebuilt with the greatest expansion of personnel and attorneys in the history of the District while achieving collections far surpassing our appropriated budget for operations.
- The “Back the Blue” license plate was established, a license plate in which plate #0001 shall forever adorn my personal vehicle.
- The relationships and partnerships among federal, state, and local law enforcement and policy leaders was strengthened to historic levels. As I prepare to exit the building and my public service as a member of the Department of Justice, it would not be appropriate without thanking some remarkable public servants:
The attorneys and staff that serve the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia are truly some of the finest in the nation. During my term, I was blessed to be able to recruit some of the very finest team members from across the nations, from California to Massachusetts and everywhere in between. My goal was to assemble the best. In that respect, I exceeded my goal. The people of West Virginia should be very proud of the remarkable individuals that comprise the hallways of my operations from Huntington to Bluefield. I am proud of each of them. None of the success I can claim could have been possible without my remarkable team.
The men and women of law enforcement are truly heroes that walk amongst us. I will forever be inspired by their daily work in defense of all of us. These “Guardians of Justice” rush into danger as we run away. Underpaid, too often disrespected, and too often the target of those that would do us harm, I am profoundly grateful for all they do on behalf of each of us. God bless and protect each of them in their protection of each of us.
I want to thank President Trump for his confidence in nominating me to this role. I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity. I have served as “best I could” without concern for politics or personal interest. I have served each day with a sense of urgency with one simple goal in mindto be an impartial and fair prosecutor in the administration of justice.
Finally, I want to thank my wife, Katrina, and my daughters, Isabella and Audrey, for their unconditional love and support throughout my term as the United States Attorney. I would be lying if I told you my greatest honor was serving in my present role. I have been blessed with three greater honors- that July day nearly twenty-five years ago when Katrina said, “I do,” and those two days in which the greatest gifts of my life arrived to an adoring mom and dad.
I am one of the luckiest people in the whole world. My life has been one of repeated blessings. If my life were to end today, I would die a man blessed far greater than what he deserves.
President Biden, I wish you the greatest success in your leadership of this great nation. We are truly the greatest nation in the history of man. If I may ever be of assistance, please don’t hesitate to call on me.
God Bless the Great State of West Virginia and the United States of America.
My very best,
MICHAEL B. STUART
