Key Members Of Jack Smith’s DOJ Team Fired As Trump Administration Cleans House
Acting Attorney General James McHenry has dismissed more than a dozen Justice Department officials who were involved in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into President Donald Trump. The decision follows McHenry’s assertion that these individuals could not be relied upon to implement the administration’s agenda, according to a Justice Department official.
McHenry sent termination letters to the employees, though the names of those fired have not been disclosed. A DOJ official stated, “Today, Acting Attorney General James McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DOJ 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.”
The move comes after President Trump’s promise to address the “weaponization of the federal government,” which his administration says was evident in the cases led by Smith. Earlier in the Trump administration, over a dozen officials were reassigned to roles focused on sanctuary city policies and other priorities aligning with the president’s directives.
Smith, appointed by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022, led two high-profile investigations into Trump. The first involved allegations about classified records, and the second focused on the 2020 election and its aftermath. Both cases were dropped following Trump’s election victory in 2024. Smith resigned after completing his investigations.
Meanwhile, Washington, D.C.’s top federal prosecutor has launched an internal review of charging decisions related to hundreds of Jan. 6 cases. This review will examine the use of obstruction charges against defendants, a statute the Supreme Court later ruled had been overapplied by prosecutors.
President Trump recently signed an executive order aimed at dismantling what he referred to as politically motivated government actions. These developments mark significant steps toward fulfilling campaign promises to restore accountability within federal agencies.
