Trump had earlier pleaded not guilty to all charges, arguing that the cases reflected a weaponization of the legal system
By Kehinde Okeowo
United States President, Donald Trump, has terminated the appointments of over a dozen Justice Department lawyers who brought two criminal cases against him.
This development was confirmed on Monday by Acting Attorney General, James McHenry, who noted that the lawyers can’t be trusted to faithfully implement Trump’s agenda because of their significant role in prosecuting the President.
In the termination letters, McHenry, a Trump appointee, cited the president’s power as chief executive under the U.S. Constitution to justify the firings.
It was gathered that the sacked lawyers worked with Special Counsel, Jack Smith, who led the two federal prosecutions of Trump that the department dropped after his November election.
Smith, however, resigned from the department earlier this month.
The sacking came the same day that Ed Martin, the top federal prosecutor in Washington and a Trump appointee, opened an internal review into the use of a felony obstruction charge in prosecutions of people accused of taking part in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Smith was appointed by former Attorney General, Merrick Garland, and he brought cases accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents at his Florida social club and attempting to interfere with the certification of the 2020 election.
The 47th US president, however, pleaded not guilty to all charges, arguing that the cases reflected a weaponization of the legal system.
Smith later dropped both cases after Trump’s election, citing a longtime-policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
