A high-ranking prosecutor in New Orleansโ U.S. Attorneyโs Office who led the pending criminal case has been withdrawn from her prosecution team and placed on leave, as the officeโs top prosecutor says the Justice Department has opened an investigation into โallegations of employee misconduct.โ
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, the officeโs longtime public corruption chief, has helmed the yearslong probe of Cantrell and secured the against her last August. The charges accused the mayor of spending taxpayer money on romantic sojourns with her police bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, then conspiring to hide the relationship while she was in office.
Ginsberg was promoted this spring to head the officeโs criminal prosecutions after U.S. Attorney David Courcelle was appointed by President Donald Trump.
Ginsberg was stripped of that title last week, the people familiar with the matter told The Times-Picayune, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the issue.
โWe take all allegations of employee misconduct seriously and in such cases, will take appropriate action after a thorough review of the facts,โ Courcelle said in a prepared statement Tuesday evening.ย โWhile we cannot comment on specific personnel matters, we can confirm that as of Friday, June 12, 2026, the employee was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.โ
Further details about the circumstances of Ginsbergโs reassignment were not available Tuesday evening. He did not immediately respond to messages. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneyโs Office, Shane Jones, did not immediately respond to a request for additional information.
In a filing in federal court late Tuesday, the U.S. Attorneyโs Office moved to withdraw Ginsberg from the Cantrell prosecution.
Federal prosecutors Jordan Ginsberg (left) and Nick Moses (center) leave the Hale Boggs Federal Building-Courthouse in New Orleans, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)
STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER
The filing was signed by Michael Simpson, a veteran prosecutor who sources said has taken over from Ginsberg as criminal chief, and Nick Moses, the deputy chief of the officeโs public corruption unit who had worked alongside Ginsberg on the Cantrell probe.