The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia said during his ceremonial investiture last week that he will “not bend to power,” The West Virginia Record reported Thursday.
B. Booth Goodwin, who was officially sworn in May 27, took the oath of office again on Friday with West Virginia leaders and his supporters looking on.

R. Booth Goodwin (DOJ)
The Charleston, W.Va.-based U.S. Attorney said he would improve efforts to combat illicit prescription drug distribution, fraud and workplace safety crime.
“The strong shouldn’t be able to take from the weak,” Goodwin said. “Our most vulnerable fellow citizens should be protected from exploitation. Workers shouldn’t be forced to earn their living in illegal, unsafe conditions. And everyone—rich or poor, man or woman, old or young, elected official or citizen, from the CEO to the minimum wage earner—should play by the same set of rules.”
The ceremony included the presentation of Goodwin’s presidential commission from H. Marshall Jarrett, director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) and U.S. Appeals Judge Robert B. King of the 4th Circuit also spoke at the event.
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), who died Monday, was not in attendance at the event.