Top Barr ally Seth DuCharme under consideration for NY US attorney job

The Justice Department is considering a top official and ally of Attorney General William Barr to replace the outgoing US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, according to a report.

Seth DuCharme, who previously built his career as a prosecutor in the Brooklyn-based office, is being considered by department leadership for the top job, according to CNN.

DuCharme left EDNY last year to join Justice Department headquarters in Washington, DC, where he served as principal associate deputy attorney general and advised Barr on criminal and national security matters.

The principal associate deputy attorney general works with the nation’s 93 US attorneys to bridge communication between them and department headquarters.

The news comes as Richard Donoghue, the US attorney for EDNY, announced Thursday that he was leaving his job for the role currently filled by DuCharme.

Donoghue will report to Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen in his new role.

Donoghue, also a Barr ally, oversaw the prosecutions and convictions of drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman and Nxivm sex-cult founder Keith Raniere.

Both DuCharme and Donoghue are said to be favorites of the attorney general, who intends to keep them in senior positions within the department, the network reports.

The moves come amid tension in the nearby Southern District of New York, where controversy erupted over the firing of former US Attorney Geoffrey Berman.

In June, Barr announced that Berman was stepping down and that US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton would be his successor.

Berman refused to resign until the Senate confirmed his successor, and said his office’s investigations would continue.

Only after Barr agreed to let Berman’s deputy Audrey Strauss take the reins did Berman agree to step down.

The very public spat led to allegations that Barr was interfering with the independence of one of the country’s most important federal prosecutor’s offices, as Berman was investigating President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

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