Ethics · Government · Justice·January 27, 2025
Acting AG McHenry fires 12+ career prosecutors who investigated Trump
Acting Attorney General James McHenry fired more than a dozen career federal prosecutors on January 27, 2025, targeting attorneys who worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith's criminal cases against Donald Trump
Photo: Leah Millis/Reuters
Acting AG James McHenry fired more than 12 career DOJ prosecutors on January 27, 2025 — seven days after Trump's inauguration
Named prosecutors fired include Molly Gaston, J.P. Cooney, Mary Dohrmann, and Anne McNamara, all of whom worked on Smith's two cases against Trump
McHenry's stated reason: these prosecutors could not be trusted to 'faithfully implement' the president's agenda due to their role in prosecuting him
Career prosecutors by tradition serve across administrations and are not fired based on the content of past lawful work
Gaston and Cooney challenged the firings as violations of civil service protections
Legal experts described the firings as 'unlawful and vindictive' and unprecedented in scope and intent
Former DOJ officials said the true purpose was deterrence
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