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Last updated on Monday, July 14, 2014
(INDIANAPOLIS) - Joe Hogsett has announced his resignation as U.S. attorney for the southern district of Indiana.
Hogsett made his plans known in a press release Monday. His resignation is effective July 31.
The move is fueling speculation about a possible run for Indianapolis mayor, even though in March, Hogsett said he had no plans to run for mayor in 2015.
Hogsett, a Rushville native and Indiana University School of Law graduate, has been serving as US attorney for the district since October 2010. He supervises a staff of 30 lawyers and a support staff of 40.
Read Hogsett's resignation letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.
So far, Hogsett's intentions are limited to what he said in the press release. Part of it points to the success he has had in fighting crime.
"We have set new records for the number of defendants charged and the total number of criminal convictions. The office has led the nation in average length of sentences imposed on criminal defendants," Hogsett wrote.
That was the reason he was nominated to serve as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana in October 2010. Hogsett has told Eyewitness News that he truly enjoyed this job, took great pride in it and in the rule of law.
As far as what's next, Hogsett isn't saying. Former Sen. Evan Bayh, Hogsett's political mentor, will be talking more about this decision this afternoon.
Currently Hogsett cannot discuss his future plans until his term as U.S. Attorney is over at the end of the month. With the current crime wave sweeping Indianapolis, it certainly is leading some to believe it is a run for mayor.
It is also interesting to note that Sen. Bayh will be talking today. There is speculation he could come back to Indiana to run for governor. He has amassed nearly $10 million in his campaign account. However, if Hillary Rodham Clinton is the nominee of the Democratic Party for president, Bayh could also play a role in that.
The Democratic Party in Indiana has been in need of an infusion of excitement. Today with this announcement and Bayh's role in it, it has it.
Hogsett's press release:
Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today his resignation from office, effective July 31, 2014. In a letter submitted to Attorney General Eric Holder this morning, Hogsett thanked his staff and reflected on his time as U.S. Attorney:
"It has been an honor to serve in this office for the last four years because I have had the privilege to do so alongside a talented group of Assistant United States Attorneys. I owe them and our tireless support staff a debt of gratitude for the dedication and resilience that has been displayed every day of my tenure...
The result of this effort has been the most exciting period in the office's history. We have set new records for the number of defendants charged and the total number of criminal convictions. The office has led the nation in average length of sentences imposed on criminal defendants. Fiscally, annual office spending has fallen every year I have served, and is currently at a level not seen since the Bush Administration.
But numbers alone are not sufficient to describe the office's accomplishments. Rather, the full story is told through the thousands of victims who found some sense of justice over the last four years - children who had faced horrific exploitation, grandmothers who had watched their retirement funds disappear, neighborhoods that used to live in fear of violent gangs that operated with no regard for the rule of law."
In July 2010, Joseph H. Hogsett was nominated to serve as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. He was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate and sworn into office on October 7, 2010.
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