In a move that has raised eyebrows, the Trump administration has fired over a dozen Justice Department lawyers who were involved in two high-profile criminal cases against former President Donald Trump.
These lawyers were part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team, which investigated Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The firings, which took place on Monday, January 27, 2025, follow a determination by Acting Attorney General James McHenry that these lawyers could no longer be trusted to “faithfully implement the president’s agenda” due to their involvement in prosecuting the former president.
The Justice Department lawyers involved were part of the investigation into Trump’s actions, which led to criminal charges. The cases were eventually closed after Trump’s November 2024 election victory, with prosecutors citing the legal bar against prosecuting a sitting president.
However, both investigations ended with criminal charges against Trump, to which he pleaded not guilty.
Although it is unclear which specific lawyers were fired, reports indicate that many of those dismissed were career prosecutors specialising in national security and corruption cases. These individuals had worked across different administrations and had been assigned to Smith’s investigation into Trump.
Former US Attorney Joyce Vance condemned the firings, calling them an attack on the rule of law. “Firing prosecutors because of cases they were assigned to work on is just unacceptable,” Vance stated, adding that such actions were “anti-rule of law” and “anti-democracy.”
The firings come shortly after the administration initiated a broad reassignment of several top Justice Department officials with expertise in national security, public corruption, and other critical areas. This shakeup also included the resignation of the chief of the public integrity section.
Trump and his legal team have repeatedly accused the Justice Department of launching politically motivated investigations against him and his associates, alleging that the federal prosecutions were a form of political persecution. Trump has vowed to overhaul the department if re-elected, claiming that it has been “weaponised” against him.
Meanwhile, Special Counsel Jack Smith defended his work, writing in a letter that the claims of political interference in his decisions were “laughable.”
In a related development, Washington DC’s top federal prosecutor, Edward Martin, a Trump appointee, announced an internal review into the charging decisions behind the hundreds of Capitol riot cases.
The review will examine the Justice Department’s decision to bring obstruction charges against more than 200 defendants involved in the January 6th attack on the US Capitol.
GOT A STORY?
Contact: +233243201960 or email: manuelnkansah33@gmail.com