Trump fires justice department officials who investigated him in criminal case

Several officials engaged in President Donald Trump’s criminal cases were dismissed by the US Justice Department on Monday.

“Acting attorney general James McHenry made this decision because he did not believe these officials could be trusted to faithfully implement the president’s agenda because of their significant role in prosecuting the president,” a Justice Department official said.

Although the official did not say how many persons had their jobs terminated, US media sites reported that over a dozen people had been let go, including many Justice Department career prosecutors.

Earlier last month, Special Counsel Jack Smith, who filed two federal lawsuits against Trump, resigned.

Smith accused Trump of mishandling confidential data after leaving the White House and of conspiring to alter the 2020 election results.

Neither case came to trial and Smith – in line with a long-standing Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a sitting president – dropped them both after the Republican won November’s presidential election.

The firing of the Justice Department officials involved in prosecuting Trump was not unexpected.

Trump had vowed before the election to fire Smith “on day one” and accused the Justice Department under Democratic president Joe Biden of conducting a “political witchhunt” against him.

In his inauguration speech, Trump said he would end the “vicious, violent, and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government.”

In his final report, Smith said Trump would have been convicted for his “criminal efforts” to retain power after the 2020 election if the case had not been dropped.

Trump was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding – the session of Congress held to certify Biden’s win that was violently attacked on January 6, 2021 by a mob of Trump supporters.

Smith also prepared a report into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents but it is being withheld because charges are pending against two of his former co-defendants.

Trump faces separate racketeering charges in Georgia over his efforts to subvert the election results in the southern state, but the case will likely be frozen while he is in office.

Trump was convicted in New York in May of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star. The judge who presided over the case gave him an “unconditional discharge” which carries no jail time, fine or probation.