Over a dozen officials working under the US Justice Department have been terminated for being part of the probes into the moves of President Donald Trump in response to the latter's defeat during the 2020 presidential elections.
Two key cases that had been spearheaded by former Special Counsel Jack Smith were: that the latter had engaged in illegal ways of overturning the results of the 2020 elections.
He also accused him of mishandling classified documents and obstructing justice after leaving office in 2021. Both of the investigations ended in indictments against Trump.
Acting Attorney General James McHenry justified the firings, saying that the officials could not be trusted to advance the President's agenda due to their roles in the investigations.
A department spokesperson said that the fired individuals were removed because of "concerns over their alignment with the administration's priorities."
Trump and his allies have been lambasting Smith's investigations for years, often calling them politically driven and arguing that the previous Biden administration used government agencies as weapons against conservative voices.
One of Trump's earliest executive orders when he returned to the White House was to purge those he deemed political enemies. Which of the officials on Smith's staff were fired remains unclear, but the firings indicate Trump is intent on reshaping the Justice Department.
Smith, following Trump's reelection, dropped both cases against the former President. Citing Justice Department policy, Smith explained that prosecuting a sitting president is prohibited.
In addition to the firings, some officials from the Justice Department were reassigned to focus on Trump's primary agenda, particularly immigration enforcement, according to an anonymous source familiar with the situation.
During that time, an interim US attorney in the District of Columbia, Ed Martin, is reportedly opening up an internal probe about bringing felony charges related to obstruction charges against persons participating in January 6 US Capitol riot attacks.
Martin had always been opposed vocally about the prosecution as an attorney heading to lead DC. The last four years have also witnessed him take control of such prosecutions in this region.
On his first day back in office, Trump signed a far-reaching clemency order, pardoning over 1,500 individuals charged in connection to the January 6 attack and dismissing all pending cases.
Martin's review and Trump's clemency orders mark significant shifts in how the Justice Department will handle politically charged cases. A spokesperson for the US attorney's office declined to comment on the matter.
Indeed, the firings--which first came to light via Fox News--and Martin's review-similarly reported by the Wall Street Journal-report a deep reshuffling at the Justice Department under Trump's presidency.
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