[More than a dozen officials who worked on criminal investigations into Donald Trump have been fired, according to sources familiar with the matter. A letter from acting Attorney General James McHenry to the officials stated that they cannot be “trusted” to “faithfully” implement Trump’s agenda.
The firings come as the Trump administration is taking concrete steps to investigate prosecutors who oversaw the criminal cases against January 6 defendants. Ed Martin, the interim US attorney in Washington, DC, has launched an investigation into prosecutors who brought obstruction charges under US Code 1512(c) against some rioters that were ultimately tossed because of a Supreme Court decision last summer.
Martin has demanded that attorneys hand over all information related to the use of 1512 charges, including files, documents, notes, emails, and other information, to two long-term prosecutors who must submit a report on the probe by Friday. The demand also extends to prosecutors who have since left the US attorney’s office.
The move has raised concerns that Trump’s DOJ is beginning to “investigate the investigators,” as he’s long threatened. Prosecutors who worked on January 6 cases told CNN that they don’t know whether this investigation is looking to bring criminal or civil charges, and that some are starting to hire their own lawyers for their defense.
A senior administration official familiar with the Martin email described the investigation as a “fact-finding” mission, noting a “huge waste of resources.” The official stated that the prior office “screwed up by filing hundreds of cases that ended up getting thrown out by the Supreme Court, it is worth getting to the bottom of poor decision making.”
Martin, a hardline, socially conservative activist and commentator who was an organizer with the “Stop the Steal” movement, was tapped for the role last week. Since starting the job, he has praised Trump for issuing mass pardons for January 6 defendants and successfully lobbied a judge to toss out travel restrictions imposed on members of the Oath Keepers after they were released from prison.
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