The Justice Department under Donald Trump said today that it has fired several career prosecutors involved in cases against the US president.
These Justice Department officials specifically collaborated on Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation that led to Trump's indictment for possession of classified documents and his involvement in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by supporters of the now-president.
The charges were eventually dropped after Trump's election victory in November, in line with Trump's policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents.
Jack Smith resigned from the Justice Department earlier this month.
The move, which follows the reassignment of several senior career officials to different divisions, was taken even though rank-and-file prosecutors traditionally remain in their posts in presidential administrations and are not punished for their involvement in sensitive investigations, the agency said. Associated Press (AP) agency.
A Justice Department source, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the firings were made by acting Attorney General James McHenry, but it was not immediately clear which prosecutors were affected by the order.
"In light of their actions, the acting attorney general does not trust these individuals to help faithfully implement the president's orders. This action is related to the mission to end the instrumentalization of the government," a source at the Department of Justice told NBC. Justice.
A source close to the case told NBC the names of career prosecutors Molly Gaston, J.P. Cooney, Anne McNamara and Mary Dohrmann. These are all career federal employees, so they cannot be fired directly and a legal process must be initiated.
According to the station, they must first receive notices and warnings and must be able to hire lawyers to formally appeal any disciplinary process that involves the loss of their jobs.
Former US Attorney Joyce Vance called it "simply unacceptable" to fire prosecutors based solely on cases they worked on.
"This goes against the rule of law. It goes against democracy," he stressed, speaking to NBC.
