Special Counsel Jack Smith arrives to make a statement to the press in Washington, on August 1, 2023 | Francis Chung/POLITICO
The United States’ justice department has reportedly dismissed over a dozen officials who worked on the criminal investigations into President Donald Trump.
Officials from the department confirmed to CBS on Monday that the prosecutors received the terminating letters of appointment from James McHenry, acting attorney general, via email.
According to the officials, Henry told the prosecutors that they cannot be “trusted” to “faithfully” implement Trump’s agenda.
“You played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump. The proper functioning of government critically depends on the trust superior officials place in their subordinates,” McHenry wrote.
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“Given your significant role in prosecuting the President, I do not believe that the leadership of the Department can trust you to assist in implementing the President’s agenda faithfully.”
The lawyers were part of a team assembled by Jack Smith, a former special counsel, who investigated Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and his alleged attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
Smith was appointed as special counsel in 2022 to oversee the two justice department cases into Trump.
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The president had vowed to fire him “within two seconds” of taking office, but he quit before his inauguration.
Both cases resulted in criminal charges against Trump, who pleaded not guilty.
Following Trump’s presidential election win, Smith withdrew the charges since justice department regulations do not allow the prosecution of a sitting president.
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