Gore served as district attorney until 1796 . His principal matter of concern was the enforcement of U.S. neutrality with respect to the French Revolutionary Wars . He attempted several times to prosecute the French consul in Boston , Antoine Duplaine , for arming and operating privateers out of the Port of Boston , but he was stymied by local juries that sympathized with the French . Duplaine was eventually expelled on orders from President George Washington based on evidence provided by Gore .