The Trump administration has fired more than a dozen Department of Justice lawyers who were involved in criminal investigations of the president, officials confirmed Monday.
Acting Attorney-General James McHenry justified the dismissals by stating the lawyers “could not be trusted to faithfully implement the President’s agenda” due to their roles in the prosecutions. The termination letter, reviewed by Reuters, cited Trump’s constitutional authority as chief executive.
The fired attorneys had worked with Special Counsel Jack Smith, who recently resigned after dropping two major federal cases against Trump following his November election victory. Those cases had alleged illegal retention of classified documents and interference with the 2020 election certification.
The shake-up extends beyond the dismissals. Up to 20 senior career Justice Department officials have been reassigned, including Bradley Weinsheimer, the department’s top ethics official, and Corey Amundson, former chief of the public corruption section, who announced his resignation Monday.
These changes come as the Senate prepares to vote on Trump’s attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi, whose confirmation hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
In a parallel development, Ed Martin, the top federal prosecutor in Washington and a Trump appointee, has initiated an internal review of how obstruction charges were applied in January 6 Capitol attack cases, following a recent Supreme Court ruling that raised the legal threshold for such charges.
The reorganisation reflects the administration’s follow-through on promises to address what Trump has characterised as a “weaponization” of the legal system. Smith had dropped both cases against Trump after the election, citing a longstanding policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
Meanwhile, Trump is expected to sign three executive orders which relate to transgender military service members, reinstating troops who were discharged for refusing the Covid vaccine, and diversity, equity and inclusion programmes. He pledged to make these changes and criticised the military for becoming too “woke” during a speech to congressional Republicans in Florida.
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