The Justice Department on Friday 
fired at least three prosecutors involved in U.S. Capitol riot criminal cases,
the latest moves by the Trump administration targeting attorneys connected to the massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack,
according to two people familiar with the matter.
Those dismissed include two attorneys who worked as supervisors overseeing the Jan. 6 prosecutions in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington
as well as a line attorney who prosecuted cases stemming from the Capitol attack, the people said.
They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
A letter that was received by one of the prosecutors was signed by Attorney General Pam #Bondi.
The letter did not provide a reason for their removal, effective immediately,
citing only
“Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States,” according to a copy seen by The Associated Press.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment Friday evening.
The terminations marked yet another escalation of norm-shattering moves that have raised alarm over the Trump administration’s
disregard for civil service protections for career lawyers and the erosion of the Justice Department’s independence from the White House.
Top leaders at the Justice Department have also
fired employees who worked on the prosecutions against Trump and
demoted a slew of career supervisors in what has been seen as an effort to purge the agency of lawyers seen as insufficiently loyal to Trump
During his time as interim U.S. attorney in Washington,
Ed #Martin in February demoted several prosecutors involved in the Jan. 6 cases,
including the attorney who served as chief of the Capitol Siege Section.
Others demoted include two lawyers who helped secure seditious conspiracy convictions against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes
and former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio.
In January, then-acting Deputy Attorney General
Emil #Bove ordered the firings of about two dozen prosecutors who had been hired for temporary assignments to support the Jan. 6 cases,
but were moved into permanent roles after Trump’s presidential win in November.
Bove said he would not “tolerate subversive personnel actions by the previous administration.”
https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-prosecutions-capitol-riot-trump-bondi-1107441a68cef171dfff4e680e438452
