US justice official leading prosecutions of minor crimes pleaded guilty to DUI

Source: The Guardian

Tue 23 Sep 2025 18.32 EDT
First published on Tue 23 Sep 2025 15.57 EDT


A top official at the Department of Justice (DoJ) who is directing aggressive prosecutions of minor crimes in Washington DC pleaded guilty to driving under the influence four years ago, the Guardian has found. His subsequent elevation to a high-ranking post is unusual in light of that arrest, experts said.

Aakash Singh, 33, became an associate deputy attorney general this year and has been instructing attorneys to prioritize charges against protesters and people committing misdemeanors, even allegedly advising them to call new grand juries if they fail to get felony indictments.

Singh received the promotion from assistant US attorney after Trump took office, following a relatively brief legal career. While he was serving as an assistant US attorney in North Carolina in 2021, police in Raleigh arrested Singh and charged him with driving while impaired, according to police records obtained by the Guardian. That month, Singh was prosecuting several high-profile cases for the US government, including violent robberies and fentanyl trafficking.

The role of associate deputy attorney general is typically staffed by a handful of senior career attorneys advising the deputy attorney general. Promoting someone who has a criminal history to associate deputy attorney general is not typical, Ken White, a former federal prosecutor, said.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/23/doj-official-dui