President Donald Trump has fired a number of U.S. Attorneys in a move that has shaken the Justice Department. The firings come amidst a period of significant upheaval at the DOJ, which has seen a number of high-profile departures since Trump took office. Trump's direct involvement in the firings is unusual, as such decisions typically originate from the Justice Department.
Numerous U.S. attorneys announced their departures during a period of extreme upheaval at the Justice Department, an institution long criticized by Trump. Trump himself was a criminal defendant in two separate federal cases until they were dropped after his election in November. The full extent of the terminations was not clear as of Thursday morning.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and a Justice Department spokesman could not immediately provide a figure for how many of the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys in federal court districts across the country were impacted. Confirmation by the Senate was expected at some point, but their immediate terminations by the White House were a departure from history. In the past, politically appointed U.S. attorneys had been asked to resign by the Justice Department. The terminations impacted at least two court-appointed U.S. attorneys, including one career federal prosecutor who had previously worked on Jan. 6 cases. A spokesperson for that court-appointed U.S. attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Tara McGrath was “informed of her termination in a communication from the White House, at the direction of the President of the United States,' according to a statement from her office. U.S. Attorneys for the Western District of Washington Tessa Gorman and the District of Massachusetts Rachael Rollins both announced their departures Wednesday but did not provide reasons. McGrath, Barron and King were Biden nominees confirmed by the Senate. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Tessa Gorman, who was a court-appointed top federal prosecutor, “was removed from her post,” a spokesperson said. Gorman first took on the role in an acting capacity before she was confirmed by the Senate. A source familiar with the matter told NBC News that one of the fired U.S. attorneys received a letter from Trent Morse, the deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel, that read: “At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as U.S. Attorney is terminated, effective immediately.” The White House’s direct involvement in the firings is unusual, as such decisions typically come from the Justice Department. During Trump’s first term, Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked U.S. Attorneys to resign, and only one U.S. attorney was terminated after they refused to resign. During Biden’s term, Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys were asked to resign, and were given three weeks to depart at a set date, while a number of interim U.S. attorneys who were not Senate-confirmed (including those appointed by courts) remained. That action also originated from the Justice Department. Since Trump took office 24 days ago, the Justice Department has been through a tremendous period of unrest. It started on the day of Trump's inauguration, when he who himself worked Jan. 6 cases — fired federal prosecutors who had originally been hired to work Capitol cases and demanded a list of FBI employees who investigated the Capitol siege. The Trump administration also
DONALD TRUMP JUSTICE DEPARTMENT U.S. ATTORNEYS FIRINGS POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS
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