Trump administration fires team of lawyers who prosecuted him, says official

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump’s administration on Jan 27 fired more than a dozen Justice Department lawyers who brought two criminal cases against him, an official said, as the Republican moves swiftly to exert greater control over the department.

The officials were fired after Acting Attorney-General James McHenry, a Mr Trump appointee, concluded they “could not be trusted to faithfully implement the President’s agenda because of their significant role in prosecuting the President”, a Justice Department official said. 

Mr McHenry cited Mr Trump’s power as chief executive under the US Constitution to justify the firings, according to a copy of the termination letter seen by Reuters.

The lawyers worked with Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led the two federal prosecutions of Mr Trump that the department dropped after his November election. Mr Smith resigned from the department earlier in January.

News of the firings came the same day that Mr Ed Martin, the top federal prosecutor in Washington and a Mr Trump appointee, opened an internal review into the use of a felony obstruction charge in prosecutions of people accused of taking part in the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The US Supreme Court raised the legal bar for that offence in a 6-3 ruling in 2024, prompting prosecutors to drop the charge in several cases.

The moves reflect a willingness by the Trump administration to follow through on threats to seek retribution against prosecutors who pursued Mr Trump and his supporters during his four years out of office.

Mr Trump and his allies view the Justice Department with deep suspicion after prosecutors accused the President of national security- and election-related crimes.

The moves on Jan 27 came after the Trump administration re-assigned up to 20 senior career Justice Department officials, including Mr Bradley Weinsheimer, the top ethics official, and the former chief of the public corruption section, Mr Corey Amundson, from their roles.

Mr Amundson, whose section provided advice to Mr Smith’s prosecutors, announced his resignation on Jan 27.

The moves to shake up the Justice Department’s workforce have happened before the US Senate votes on Mr Trump’s Attorney-General nominee, Ms Pam Bondi.

Ms Bondi’s nomination is set to be voted on by a Senate panel on Jan 29.

Mr Smith, who was appointed by former Attorney-General Merrick Garland, brought cases accusing Mr Trump of illegally retaining classified documents at his Florida social club and attempting to interfere with the certification of the 2020 election.

Mr Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and argued the cases reflected a “weaponisation” of the legal system.

Mr Smith dropped both cases after Trump’s election, citing a long-time policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

Many of those who worked on Mr Smith’s cases were long-time public corruption and national security prosecutors who remained in the department when Mr Smith closed his investigation earlier in January. REUTERS