Trump Fires Prosecutors Who Investigated Him

President Donald Trump’s administration has moved swiftly to remove over a dozen prosecutors linked to past investigations and prosecutions against him, raising alarm about potential political retribution, Al Jazeera reports.

The terminations, effective immediately on Monday, targeted Justice Department employees, according to anonymous sources within the administration.

Acting Attorney General James McHenry, a Trump appointee, said that these prosecutors were dismissed because they “could not be trusted to faithfully implement the President’s agenda,” citing their involvement in past cases against Trump. This justification has been interpreted as fulfilling Trump’s long-standing threats against those who scrutinized his behavior while he was out of office.

The move represents a significant departure from established norms, where career government employees are generally protected from punishment for carrying out their duties under prior administrations. Trump, who began his second term on January 20th after previously serving from 2017 to 2021, has made it clear that loyalty to his administration is paramount.

Among those fired were prosecutors who had worked with former Special Counsel Jack Smith, who spearheaded two federal investigations into Trump. These investigations included:

• The Classified Documents Case: Focused on Trump’s retention of classified documents at his private residence after leaving office, despite a 2022 subpoena for their return.
• The 2020 Election Case: Investigated Trump’s actions before, during, and after the 2020 presidential election, in which he was accused of attempting to subvert the results.

Both investigations resulted in federal criminal indictments against Trump, marking the first time a current or former US president faced such charges. Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing in these cases and in related state-level indictments in Georgia and New York, describing them as a politically motivated “witch hunt.”

The federal cases had been overseen by the Biden administration’s Justice Department, but to maintain impartiality, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith, an independent special counsel, to lead the probes. However, neither case went to trial. After Trump’s re-election in November 2024, Smith dropped both cases, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting sitting presidents, and he subsequently resigned as special counsel.

Since his return to office, Trump has initiated a broad purge of federal offices. On January 24, it was reported he had terminated a dozen inspectors general, raising further questions about the administration’s commitment to oversight and accountability. Some experts contend these dismissals violated federal law, which mandates 30 days’ notice and a clear explanation for removing an inspector general.

On his inauguration day, Trump previewed the dismissals of “Biden bureaucrats” at a rally in Washington, D.C., signaling his intent to restructure the federal government according to his vision.