The Justice Department fired officials who worked on the special counsel team that investigated Donald Trump in two criminal cases. Acting Attorney General James McHenry informed the employee of their firings, saying he “does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda.” The terminations are the latest example of the Trump administration's reshaping the Justice Department, transferring or firing veteran career officials who the president’s allies believe would impede their agenda, the Washington Post reports. A DOJ spokesman said McHenry's action "is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponization of government.” the spokesman said.
In November 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that he would appoint Jack Smith to serve as special counsel and oversee the investigation of Trump. Smith built a team of at least 40 lawyers. The team investigated Trump’s alleged mishandling of national defense secrets after he left the White House in 2021 and his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Both cases resulted in indictments, but Smith dropped the cases against Trump after the election, citing federal guidelines that prohibit the prosecution of a sitting president. Smith brought some people from outside the government to serve on the team, though many were career employees who were detailed to work on the cases. Once the prosecutions were over, many went back to their career positions. Those people have protections as career government employees. Smith was hired from outside the government and left DOJ before Trump was inaugurated.
Comments