Trump justice department fires officials who worked for prosecutor Jack Smith
Trump justice department fires officials who worked for prosecutor Jack Smith
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Acting attorney general reportedly says officials could not be trusted to ‘faithfully implement president’s agenda’. The justice department is firing more than a dozen officials who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s cases against Donald Trump on charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat and mishandling of classified documents, according to reports on Monday.
The officials were fired after the acting attorney general, James McHenry, said they could not be trusted in “faithfully implementing the president’s agenda”, Fox News reported, citing a justice department official. The exact number or names of the individuals fired is not yet known. NBC News also confirmed the firings.
“Today … McHenry terminated the employment of a number of [justice department] officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump,” Fox cited the official as saying. “In light of their actions, the acting attorney general does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the president’s agenda,” the official said.
Smith, who resigned before Trump took office, concluded in a report released this month that the president engaged in an “unprecedented criminal effort” to hold on to power after losing the 2020 election, but was thwarted in bringing the case to trial by Trump’s November election victory. Smith also investigated Trump’s retention of classified documents after he left the White House, filing a second federal lawsuit in Florida.
