President Donald Trump fired over a dozen employees at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday because they were involved in prosecuting him in federal cases.
Former Special Counsel Jack Smith led two cases against Trump. The first case was about Trump keeping government documents after he left office. Smith claimed these documents were classified and accused Trump of blocking their return.
This case was dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump. The second case was about Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Smith dropped this case after Trump won the election in November, citing a DOJ rule that says sitting presidents should not be prosecuted.
In a letter to the employees who worked on Smith’s team, Acting Attorney General James McHenry told them they were being fired immediately.
He said they played a big role in prosecuting Trump and that the DOJ leadership could no longer trust them to support the President’s agenda. He also mentioned that Trump had criticized the previous administration for using federal agencies to target political opponents.
The Associated Press called the firings a “norm-shattering move.” This happened just days after Trump fired more than a dozen inspectors general at other agencies, which one of the dismissed inspectors called a “widespread massacre.”
