Trump Fires Justice Department Lawyers Who Prosecuted Him

In a dramatic move, the Trump administration has fired over a dozen justice department lawyers who were involved in two key criminal cases against the former president.

The dismissal follows Acting Attorney General James McHenry’s determination that the lawyers could no longer be trusted to carry out the president’s agenda due to their significant role in prosecuting him.

These attorneys were part of former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team investigating 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, are effective immediately.

Special Counsel Jack Smith, appointed in 2022 to oversee the investigations, led the charge in both cases, which ultimately resulted in criminal charges against Trump—charges the president denied.

Although the cases were closed after Trump’s election win, prosecutors noted that the regulations surrounding presidential prosecution prevent legal action against a sitting president.

While the identities of the fired lawyers remain unclear, many of them were career corruption and national security experts, having worked across several administrations.

In a striking move, these lawyers received a letter on Monday stating their involvement in investigating Trump made them unsuitable for continued service within the department.

Critics have slammed the firings, with former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance condemning them as a threat to the rule of law and democracy. “Firing prosecutors because of cases they were assigned to work on is just unacceptable,” she said.

This shakeup in the Justice Department follows a series of high-profile resignations and reassignment of top officials, including the resignation of the chief of the public integrity section.

Trump and his allies argue that these legal actions are politically motivated, claiming the Justice Department has been “weaponized” against him. As part of his re-election campaign, Trump has vowed to overhaul the department, while his nominee to head the department, Pam Bondi, has echoed his claims of political persecution.

Meanwhile, Jack Smith has strongly defended his investigation, dismissing accusations of political influence as “laughable.” In a letter accompanying the final draft of his report, Smith firmly rejected Trump’s claims that his decisions were swayed by political pressures from the Biden administration or other actors.

In a separate development, Washington D.C.’s top federal prosecutor announced a review into the charging decisions behind hundreds of Capitol riot cases, signaling ongoing scrutiny into the previous administration’s handling of the aftermath of the January 6th attack.