U.S. Attorney for Montana Jesse Laslovich unveils a $10.8 million settlement agreement with St. Peter’s Health in Helena over False Claims Act violations on Aug. 27, 2024. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana earlier this week announced the departure of U.S. Attorney for Montana Jesse Laslovich, the top federal law enforcement official in the State of Montana.
“It has been the honor of my life to serve as the United States Attorney for the state that raised me. I am profoundly grateful to the talented and hard-working people in this office, as well as our federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners who strive every day to uphold the rule of law, keep people safe, and steadfastly defend the interests of the United States of America,” Laslovich said in a written statement. “I have never been prouder to have served with them, and I will always be rooting hard for their continued safety and success.”
First Assistant Timothy J. Racicot is now the Acting U.S. Attorney, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
President Joe Biden nominated Laslovich for the position on Jan. 31, 2022, and the U.S. Senate confirmed him on May 17, 2022.
According to Reuters, it is customary for U.S. Attorneys to be asked to resign under a new administration, but not through “tersely worded termination letters,” as were sent from the new administration to several U.S. Attorneys last week.
In a post on Trust Social, President Donald Trump said he instructed the Department of Justice to terminate “ALL remaining “Biden Era” U.S. Attorneys. We must “clean house” IMMEDIATELY, and restore confidence.” The President said the DOJ “has been politicized like never before.”
Laslovich told Montana Public Radio that he found out last Friday when his computer signed him out and his work phone shut down.
As U.S. Attorney, Laslovich oversaw all federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation on behalf of the U.S. government. The district has offices in Helena, Great Falls, Missoula, Butte, and Billings.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office, under Laslovich’s tenure the office focused on “prosecuting drug trafficking and violent and sexual abuse crimes occurring on Montana’s six Indian Reservations that are within federal jurisdiction for major crimes; building strong partnerships with other federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement agencies; addressing violent and firearms crimes in communities across the state through initiatives like Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF); and protecting civil rights for all Montanans. The office continued its work to protect children from online and in person sexual predators, abusers, and traffickers, and to catch fraudsters, especially those who prey on elderly and vulnerable persons.”
It added that prosecutions of federal firearms crimes increased significantly with the average number of defendants charged will illegal possession of a firearm increasing from 83 to 111 cases per year after Laslovich took over. And the number of defendants charged with carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence or drug trafficking also increased, according to the release.
Laslovich also oversaw the launch in Montana of United Against Hate, a Justice Department initiative focused on improving the prevention of hate crimes and hate incidents by building relationships at the local level.
The Department also highlighted other work accomplished under Laslovich’s tenure including: a multi-agency investigation into a large fentanyl trafficking ring led to a coordinated take down of suspects and convictions of 10 individuals; dismantling a large, multi-state drug trafficking organization that was based on Crow Indian Reservation property resulted in federal convictions in Montana of 27 persons and was one of the largest federal drug trafficking investigations in Montana; and reaching a civil settlement agreement in 2024 between the federal government and St. Peter’s Health, in Helena, in which St. Peter’s agreed to pay $10,844,201 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act.
Acting U.S. Attorney Racicot is a career prosecutor who became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in October 2005 and has served as First Assistant U.S. Attorney in Montana since 2022.
Racicot received an undergraduate degree from Carroll College and a law degree from the University of Notre Dame.