Middle Georgia’s top federal prosecutor, Charles E. “Charlie” Peeler, is stepping down later this week, according to a statement emailed to news outlets Wednesday.
He plans to leave office at the end of the day Friday.
Peeler, a Donald Trump appointee, became the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia in 2017.
The post oversees federal cases in a wide swath of Georgia that includes 70 counties and stretches roughly from the Athens area south through Macon and Columbus and down past Albany and Valdosta.
Peeler, 47, the founding partner of an Albany law firm, plans to return to private practice with an Atlanta firm.
In the statement, he described the Middle Georgia position he is leaving as “the most rewarding experience of my professional career” and thanked Trump “for the trust he placed in me.”
“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have worked with the talented men and women in the United States Attorney’s Office and our brave and dedicated federal, state and local law enforcement to protect our citizens,” Peeler said.
The statement quoted Gov. Brian Kemp, who said that while working with Peeler “we cracked down on gang violence and made incredible progress in our fight to end human trafficking in Georgia. On behalf of all Georgians ... we wish him well in his future endeavors.”
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Telegraph.
