Justice Dept. Capitol Siege Section head Greg Rosen resigns, says Trump Jan. 6 pardons sent "terrible message"

The federal prosecutor who helped lead the largest federal criminal case in American history has resigned his position in the Justice Department.

Longtime Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Rosen, the chief of the Justice Department's Capitol Siege Section, has departed for a post with a private law firm.

In an interview with CBS News, Rosen said President Trump's pardons of the Jan. 6, 2021 , Capitol rioters continue to shock and alarm the federal investigators who handled the cases .

"The message that [the pardons] send is that political violence towards a political goal is acceptable in a modern democratic society," Rosen said. "That, from my perspective, is anathema to a constitutional republic."

Rosen helped oversee a team of Justice Department attorneys as the agency grappl