Donald Trump’s Justice Department is firing more than a dozen officials who worked on former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s cases against him.
Smith charged Trump in two separate prosecutions with trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat and mishandling of classified documents.
The officials, who were on Smith’s team, were fired after Acting Attorney General James McHenry said they could not now be trusted to pursue the president’s policies in good faith, Fox News reported.
A Justice Department official told the network: ‘Today, McHenry terminated the employment of a number of (Justice Department) officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump.
‘In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda.’
Smith, who resigned before Trump took office, concluded in a report released earlier this month that the president engaged in an ‘unprecedented criminal effort’ to hold on to power after losing the 2020 election.
Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to members of the media at the US Department of Justice building in Washington, DC, on August 1, 2023
He was ultimately thwarted in bringing the cases to trial due to Trump’s election victory.
Trump’s lawyers have called Smith’s actions politically motivated.
The president denies any wrongdoing in the cases, which Smith dropped shortly after Trump was elected.
In a separate development, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that a Trump-appointed prosecutor had opened an internal review of the Justice Department’s decision to charge hundreds of January 6 defendants with felony obstruction offenses in connection with the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Trump called Smith ‘deranged’ and ‘lamebrained’
An aerial view of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago which was raided by the FBI looking for classified documents on August 15, 2022
Trump has repeatedly raged against Smith, calling him ‘deranged’ and ‘lamebrained’.
Earlier this month, Smith stood by his decision to bring charges against Trump.
He claimed Trump would have been convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States had he not won the election for president.
In a statement issued along with his report, Smith wrote: ‘The through line of all of Mr. Trump’s criminal efforts was deceit – knowingly false claims of election fraud – and the evidence shows that Mr. Trump used these lies as a weapon to defeat a federal government function foundational to the United States’ democratic process.’
The report was released just days before Trump was set to return to the White House on January 20.
In a Truth Social post at nearly 2am Trump lambasted ‘Deranged Jack Smith’ and accused him of ‘weaponizing’ the law to pursue the political opponent of his ‘boss’ Joe Biden.
Donald Trump has slammed the ‘weaponization’ of the justice system
At least a dozen of Jack Smith’s team were fired
Smith’s report described prosecutors’ charging decisions in the case that resulted in Trump being indicted for taking a trove of national security documents to Mar-a-Lago.
It also included details of the decision to charge Trump with heading a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.
The document included, for the first time, a detailed assessment from Smith about his investigation, as well as a defense against criticism by Trump and his allies that the investigation was politicized.
The U.S. Justice Department in Washington D.C.
Smith sought to salvage the indictments but they were dismissed because of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face federal prosecution.
‘While we were not able to bring the cases we charged to trial, I believe the fact that our team stood up for the rule of law matters,’ Smith said.
‘I believe the example our team set for others to fight for justice without regard for the personal costs matters.’
