DOJ Warned: Firing Of Prosecutors, FBI Agents Involved In Jan. 6 May Trigger Legal Action

LOADING ERROR LOADING A group of attorneys have put the Justice Department “on notice,” warning that the continued firing of prosecutors or FBI agents could trigger swift legal action. Lawyers representing some of these now-former career officials said in a letter to deputy acting Attorney General Emil Bove that the firings that began last week may violate simple due process rights and that those targeted for termination are profoundly concerned that the Justice Department is now “planning to publicly disseminate the names of those employees they plan to or will actually be terminating, despite the risk of stigmatization.” Attorney Mark Zaid and representatives of the State Democracy Defenders Fund, including the watchdog’s executive chair Norm Eisen and its board member and retired federal judge Nancy Gertner, wrote, “The continuation in this course of action is a direct assault on the national security of the American citizens you have sworn to faithfully and unselfishly serve.” Last week, the FBI’s acting director Brian Driscoll informed staff at the bureau that Bove — who once represented Trump in his criminal cases — asked for a list of FBI agents or other employees who worked on Jan. 6 prosecutions. “These agents include individuals with decades of sensitive experience at the FBI and public exposure of their identities would subject them to immediate risk of doxing, swatting, harassment or possibly worse.” Indeed, they added, the prospect of this harm has already been “threatened by some who were convicted of crimes for their activities on Jan. 6, 2021.” Trump pardoned or commuted over 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters, including those who were convicted of violent police assault or were convicted of engaging in a violent conspiracy to seditiously stop the nation’s transfer of power. When Trump was asked if he had a role in the firings at the DOJ and FBI, he said “no” but immediately followed it up with attacks on the agency and its staff, saying, “We have some very bad people over there.” Trump added, “If they fired some people over there, that’s a good thing because they were very bad.” The Justice Department memo penned by Bove last week echoed Trump’s sentiments.