An Asian prosecutor is pointing the finger and accusing District Attorney Jeff Rosen of going against him. This is for writing an op-ed piece two months ago. This op-ed piece was critical of criminal-justice reformers and their effect on public safety among growing and disturbing Anti-Asian violence.

Asian Prosecutor from Santa Clara County Reassigned

The Harvard University and Columbia Law School graduate who grew up in Milpitas, CA. Daniel Chung working for the county since 2018. On Monday in San Jose Inside, Chung wrote a scathing new op-ed that posted. Chung directly and pointedly wrote he was quickly reassigned from the DA’s violent felonies division. Moreover, this was after the opinion he penned ran February 14th in The Mercury News.

To Chung, he said, about the timing, “It was very obvious,” with the news organization on Monday.

Chung, who is Korean American, tore into his boss in the Monday piece. He wrote that Rosen tried to silence him because “my balanced approach to criminal justice reforms impeded his political aspirations.”

Retaliatory Actions

“DA Rosen’s retaliatory actions would make an employment litigator cringe. Retaliation against an award-winning Asian prosecutor. He has dedicated more hours physically at the office. As well as in court during the pandemic than DA Rosen or any other prosecutor,” he wrote in the Monday op-ed. “An Asian prosecutor whose hairstyle DA Rosen had once compared to a North Korean dictator’s. An Asian prosecutor who had dared to share his personal opinion on violence. This is against Asians based on his background and experiences.”

“Santa Clara County deserves a DA who will be a leader. Not a bandwagoner. Someone who speaks out against injustice to Asian Americans and others,” he added in the piece.

When asked for comment Monday by this news organization, the district attorney’s office said, “The law forbids us from commenting on personnel matters.”

The February piece also drew direct and sharp criticism toward the DA’s office. It spurred rebukes from Asian American defense attorneys. This includes a pair who is responding that also published in The Mercury News. In fact, they said they were very disappointed in Chung’s sentiments. The attorneys didn’t like “knee-jerk calls for sentences. This goes back to an earlier time that didn’t make Asian Americans feel safer. In fact, it exploited racial divisions and community fear.”