The new broom sweeps clean, they say. And today acting attorney general James McHenry swept into the Department of Justice and told a lot of people they were fired, saying that he “does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda.” It’s unknown at this time how many lawyers were let go. It’s also unknown if this is legal to do. We’re speaking of government career officials and it may not be possible to simply show them the door, like they were a server at Mar-a-Lago. This may go along the same lines as the purge of inspectors general last week. Washington Post:
The terminations are the latest example of the Trump administration reshaping the Justice Department since the inauguration last week, transferring or firing veteran career officials who the president’s allies believe would impede or interfere with their agenda.
McHenry terminated the employment of several DOJ officials “who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump,” a spokesman said in a statement.
“In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda. This action is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponization of government,” the spokesman said.
Weaponization of government. We are down the rabbit hole now, folks. All that we need is a big bunny to hop by and some crazy queen screaming in the distance. Oh, sorry, we have our Red Queen, her name is Marjorie Taylor Greene. I guess we’re just waiting on the rabbit now.
Smith built a team of at least 40 lawyers to investigate Trump. The team investigated Trump’s alleged mishandling of national defense secrets after he left the White House in 2021 and his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Both cases resulted in indictments, but Smith dropped the cases against Trump after the election, citing long-standing federal guidelines that prohibit the prosecution of a sitting president.
Smith brought some people from outside the government to serve on the special counsel, though many were career employees who were detailed to work on the special counsel team. Once the prosecutions were over, many went back to their career positions in different parts of the Justice Department.
And, as stated, those career employees have protections. I’m sure that the legal illuminati will be chiming in a plenty, Laurence Tribe, Andrew Weissman, Glenn Kirschner, that crowd.
Meanwhile, the Trump juggernaut goes careening through our government chopping away, willy nilly. It is an appalling thing to behold. And that’s his actions domestically. Abroad, he’s driving our allies into the all too open and willing arms of China and BRICS. They are belly laughing in Beijing and merrying in Moscow. Everything Trump is doing is playing right into their hands.
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I sure wish I had a phucking memo,(not a goddamn law), that gave me permission to shoot nazis…I’d be shopping for something to ‘correct’ them with. Right Mr. Grady?(The Shining). At least this time, I wouldn’t have to cross the Atlantic like they did in WW2. Then I could, as a veteran, at least honor my oath to the Constitution. More horror to come…stay tuned. See Mr. Biden and Mr. Garland what happens when you care more about your phucking misguided ‘decency’ and image, than PROTECTING OUR GODDAMN DEMOCRACY????????
And, of course, the MAGA morons don’t seem to grasp the irony here: Trump vowed to end the “weaponizing of the government” but how he does that is by “weaponizing the government.”
They just never realized Trump was embodying Pogo Possum’s classic quote: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
I don’t know what the situation is in the US, but when I was a salaried employee in the Federal Public Service in Australia there was a significant difference in your payout if you were dismissed (not for cause) instead of resigning. You got a lot more from the dismissal.
However we shouldn’t shout this from the rooftops, because I could absolutely see this administration inventing a “cause” for dismissal, and then spending multiples of the payout differential defending any subsequent lawsuits.
Not at all surprised. After all, Trump.fired Andrew McCabe less than 24 hours before he was vested for a govt. pension. Just a means minded spiteful little man.