The Justice Department said on Monday that it had fired more than a dozen employees who worked on criminal prosecutions of US President Donald Trump, moving rapidly to pursue retribution against lawyers involved in the investigations.
Advertisement
The abrupt action targeting career prosecutors who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s team is the latest sign of upheaval inside the Justice Department and reflects the administration’s determination to purge the government of workers it perceives as disloyal to the president.
The norm-shattering move, which follows the reassignment of multiple senior career officials across divisions, was made even though rank-and-file prosecutors by tradition remain with the department across presidential administrations and are not punished by virtue of their involvement in sensitive investigations. The firings are effective immediately.
“Today, Acting Attorney General James McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DOJ officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump,” said a statement from a Justice Department official.
“In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda. This action is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponisation of government.”
Advertisement
It was not immediately clear which prosecutors were affected by the order, or how many who worked on the investigations into Trump remained with the department.