Tuesday, January 28, 2025 - The Trump administration has dismissed over a dozen Justice Department lawyers who were involved in prosecuting cases against former President Donald Trump, according to an official statement.
Acting Attorney General James McHenry, a Trump appointee,
justified the firings by stating that the attorneys could not be trusted to
implement the president's agenda, citing their significant roles in pursuing
legal actions against Trump.
In a termination letter seen by Reuters, McHenry referenced
Trump’s constitutional authority as chief executive to validate the decision.
The affected attorneys had worked under Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led two
federal cases against Trump before both were dropped following Trump’s election
victory in November. Smith resigned from the Justice Department earlier this
month.
The move coincided with an internal review launched by Ed
Martin, the Trump-appointed top federal prosecutor in Washington, into the use
of felony obstruction charges against individuals involved in the January 6,
2021, Capitol attack. This review comes after a Supreme Court ruling last year
raised the legal threshold for such charges, prompting their dismissal in
several cases.
This marks a significant shake-up within the Justice
Department as Trump continues to pursue retribution against those who
prosecuted him and his allies during his time out of office. Trump has long
been critical of the Justice Department, accusing it of bias and claiming that
the cases against him were politically motivated.
The dismissals follow earlier reassignments of up to 20
senior career Justice Department officials, including high-ranking ethics and
public corruption officials. Corey Amundson, the former chief of the public
corruption section, announced his resignation on Monday, citing the reshuffle.
These developments come as Trump’s attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi, awaits
Senate confirmation, with a vote scheduled for Wednesday.
The dismissed attorneys had worked on cases brought by
Smith, including charges against Trump for allegedly retaining classified
documents and attempting to interfere with the certification of the 2020
election. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges, maintaining that the cases
were an example of legal system "weaponization." Smith had dropped
the cases after Trump’s election win, citing a policy against prosecuting a
sitting president.
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