DOJ Dismisses Officials Involved in Trump's Prosecution

Although Pam Bondi, President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. Attorney General, awaits confirmation, the Trump administration is swiftly removing Department of Justice officials they deem untrustworthy for executing Trump's policies. Acting Attorney General James McHenry has sent letters to over a dozen officials involved in the Biden administration's DOJ investigations into Trump, informing them of their dismissal.

McHenry's letter stated:
"President Trump, on his first day in office, highlighted that the previous administration had engaged in a strategic campaign against its political adversaries, leveraging the power of various federal law enforcement bodies. This was evident in the aggressive legal actions taken against President Trump himself. Given your role in these prosecutions, it's clear that you cannot be trusted to serve the PresidenPresident'sloyally."

The Biden DOJ had conducted multiple investigations into Trump. In June 2022, federal agents searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence for documents believed to have been improperly taken from the White House, following a claim by the National Archives that they had already retrieved 15 boxes of presidential records from there. That August, the FBI conducted a raid at Mar-a-Lago to find additional documents.

After Trump announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidency in mid-November 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee criminal probes into Trump's alleged retention of national defense information and the efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

In June 2023, Smith's office leveled a 37-count indictment against Trump for mishandling classified documents. However, on July 1, 2024, the Supreme Court decided that Trump had presumptive immunity for actions taken during his presidency. Later that month, Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case, arguing that Smith's appointment was unconstitutional since he wasn't appointed by the President or confirmed by Congress. After Trump's re-election in November 2024, Smith sought to pause and dismiss his appeal in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.