John Brownlee

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• See video from today's press conference

Updated 4:26 p.m.

U.S. Attorney John Brownlee said this afternoon that his office will be in good hands when he steps down May 16.

Julie Dudley is scheduled to become the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, a step that follows several years as 1st assistant U.S. attorney. Dudley has held a number of roles since joining the office in 1988.

Brownlee, who is weighing a run for Virginia attorney general, said he is proud of the work his office has done in the past seven years. He said it was particularly impressive that a small staff last year handled both the ITT Night Vision and Purdue Pharma cases, each a complicated prosecution.

An aspect of the Purdue Pharma case that drew widespread attention was the pressure brought on Brownlee to back off -- first by Rudy Giuliani, who was representing Purdue Pharma before his ultimately unsuccessful presidential bid heated up, then by a superior at the Justice Department. When Brownlee said he would continue to aggressively pursue the case, his name was added to a department firing list that eventually embroiled the Bush administration in a battle with Congress. Brownlee's name did not stay on the list, and Purdue Pharma ended up paying a landmark penalty as it admitted improperly marketing the painkiller Oxycontin.

"We didn't back down. We didn't back away. We did the right thing," Brownlee said.

As for the pressure from within the Justice Department during the case, Brownlee said, "You're disappointed because you always want to believe in the best in people."

Brownlee said he wished unsolved cases like the Short murders in Henry County would have been solved, but expressed great pride in his office's work, which he said was directed toward ensuring the region's residents could "live in a safe, hopeful community."

Updated 3:10 p.m.

U.S. Attorney John Brownlee, who announced his resignation this afternoon, said he is “seriously considering” a run for state attorney general.

At a press conference at his downtown Roanoke office, Brownlee said he has received calls from people recommending that he run for the office. He and his wife will be weighing the decision over the next month, he said.

“It’s something that LeeAnn and I are seriously considering. I think public service is important,” he said.

Among the people who attended the press conference were Richard and Janet Burrow. They declined to comment on today’s news other than to say, “We’re just here to witness his departure.”

Updated 11:36 a.m.

U.S. Attorney John Brownlee announced this morning that he is stepping down after seven years as the top federal law enforcement official in the Western District of Virginia.

In a news release, Brownlee said he will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. at his office to discuss the resignation. He is stepping down effective May 16.

Brownlee has often been mentioned in Republican circles as a possible candidate for state attorney general. Brownlee spokesman Brian McGinn said nothing will be said about Brownlee's future plans until the press conference, if then.

Brownlee, 43, is known for strong political beliefs and a fierce prosecution style. Sometimes accused of over-reaching and of cherrypicking state cases to bring into the federal arena, Brownlee has trumpeted the value of vigorous law enforcement.

"People deserve to live in honest communities," Brownlee said last year after former Henry County Sheriff Frank Cassell pleaded guilty to lying to investigators during a case that involved drug-dealing, evidence mishandling and other misdeeds in and around Cassell's office.

Appointed by President Bush in 2001, Brownlee for a time was caught up in the Bush administration's attorney-firing controversy. His name appeared on a justice department firing list after a top department official urged Brownlee to put the brakes on the federal case against Purdue Frederick Co., parent company of Oxycontin-makers Purdue Pharma. Brownlee refused, and his name did not stay on the firing list. He went on to wrest $634.5 million from Purdue Frederick, one of the largest such penalties imposed, in a plea agreement in which the company admitted improperly marketing the addictive painkiller.

Other noteworthy prosecutions during his time in office included ITT Night Vision's illegal technology transfer to China and other countries; public corruption cases involving the Henry County Sheriff's Office, Lynchburg Mayor Carl Hutcherson, and government contracting in Buchanan County; and numerous drug, weapons and pornography cases.

Last October, Brownlee announced his office had demolished its former collection record by bringing in $134.6 million in fines and penalties, much of it from Purdue Frederick.

There was widespread criticism of some of his prosecutions, especially the pursuit of former D-Day Memorial president Richard Burrow, whose two trials for inappropriate fund-raising practices ended in hung juries. Burrow filed a complaint with an arm of the justice department that looks into prosecutorial misconduct, but an agency spokesman said in January that a review of the D-Day Memorial case found nothing wrong.

Another controversial case was that of pain management doctor Cecil Knox, who at one point faced 300 federal charges, some linked to over-prescribing Oxycontin. At Knox's first trial, a jury acquitted him on half the charges and deadlocked on the rest. Brownlee brought him back to court, and in a plea agreement Knox pleaded guilty to racketeering, health care fraud and distribution of marijuana. He was given probation and surrendered his medical license. While critics said Knox did nothing but try to ease the pain of seriously ill patients, Brownlee insisted the resources put into the years-long case were worth it. "I think the community is safer today now that Dr. Knox is not a doctor," Brownlee said in 2006.

Brownlee, who has enjoyed close ties with Sen. John Warner, last year expressed interest in federal judgeship openings in Richmond and Alexandria. But two statewide bar groups questioned his qualifications, and Brownlee was not among the nominees Warner and Sen. James Webb passed along to the White House.

Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond professor who studies federal courts, said last year that since Brownlee's work was in Western Virginia, across the state from the judgeships, "The geography made it more of an uphill fight."

In his news release today, Brownlee said that "Serving as United States Attorney has been the professional honor of my life" and thanked Bush, Senators Warner and Allen, U.S. Attorney General Mukasey, and his staff and Virginia law enforcement personnel.

Brownlee's resignation comes amid the ongoing presidential campaigns. New administrations often appoint new U.S. attorneys.

Staff writer Mike Sluss contributed to this article.