The media concluded that Chen was forced to resign because his failure as prosecutor-general to order his staff to support the police investigation had contributed to the DPP's electoral defeat in Hualien.
媒體將此舉解讀為，由於執政黨在花蓮縣長一役敗選，陳文禮身為檢察首長，無法約束所屬，只好主動請辭。