U.S. Attorney Michael Easley Jr. announced his resignation as the top federal prosecutor for Eastern North Carolina on Jan. 29.
In his role, Easley led federal prosecutions in Cumberland County, one of 44 counties in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Easley will step down on Feb. 3, according to the press release about his departure.
“It has been the highest honor to serve as the top federal law enforcement official for Eastern North Carolina – a place I was born, raised, and am proud to call home,” Easley said in the announcement. “The men and women of the Eastern District are among the hardest working in the nation – steadfast in the mission to keep America safe. Together, we helped drive down violent crime, turbocharged white-collar prosecutions, protected civil rights, and stemmed the tide of narcotics into our communities.”
Easley was appointed as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina by former President Joe Biden in November 2021, and his departure corresponds with changing of the guard on a local, state and federal level under the new administration of President Donald Trump. Easley is the second of North Carolina’s three U.S. attorneys to step down since Trump was reelected, The Assembly reported.
It’s unclear who will take Easley’s place when he steps down, as the press release did not name a successor, and a spokesperson did not respond to questions from The Assembly about it. The Trump administration is looking for interim replacements for the U.S. attorneys that have or are expected to resign in the coming days, Bloomberg Law reported.
During his tenure, Easley expanded investigative and prosecutorial resources in the district, including a nearly 17% increase in prosecutors and new legal support staff and investigators. Under his leadership, the district saw a “significant surge” in enforcement of white-collar crimes, such as fraud and money laundering, with the caseload for such offenses increasing 115% in a year, according to the press release.
Easley and his team also established the Violent Crime Action Plan (VCAP), a strategic partnership between local and federal law enforcement agencies that focused on combating violent crime and drug trafficking across multiple counties. VCAP’s operations in Fayetteville led to several high-profile arrests, such as two Cumberland County men charged in a violent crime spree spanning five counties and convictions of three members of a Fayetteville-based international fentanyl trafficking ring.
While in office, Easley prosecuted and convicted multiple Fort Liberty soldiers who committed crimes, such as a U.S. Army major who smuggled guns from Ghana and a former soldier who was convicted of drug trafficking and laundering more than $700,000.
Contact Evey Weisblat at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608. This story was made possible by donations from readers like you to CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
