Attorney General Pam Bondi has fired several Department of Justice (DOJ) employees who worked with former special counsel Jack Smith on two criminal investigations into President Donald Trump‘s possession of classified documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Reuters reported on Friday.
Newsweek has filled out an online contact form for the DOJ on Saturday for comment.
Why It Matters
The Trump administration has pursued sweeping personnel changes across federal departments and agencies, particularly targeting those they deem disloyal or involved in investigating Trump. The administration has carried out large firings on Friday evenings before, including the termination of several inspectors general in January.
Prior to assuming office for his second term, Trump faced two major criminal investigations overseen by then-Special Counsel Smith that involved multiple indictments. Over a dozen DOJ employees who worked with Smith have been fired since Trump took office again.
Outside of the judiciary, the president has also directed criticism and executive orders at lawyers and law firms linked to Smith.
What To Know
At least seven of the individuals fired Friday night worked as support staff on Smith’s team, sources told Reuters.
Some of the now terminated DOJ employees most recently worked in U.S. Attorney’s offices across the U.S. including Florida and North Carolina, the wire service reported.
Reuters initially reported that nine DOJ employees were fired, but later updated its reporting to note the number had risen to around 20. Axios and ABC News have also reported that at least 20 people were terminated.
Smith spearheaded the federal classified documents case in Florida and the case involving Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Trump faced dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally keeping classified documents that he took with him after he left the White House in 2021 at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and then obstructing the government’s efforts to get them back. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and has denied wrongdoing.
Last summer, Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed the classified documents case on grounds that Smith was not properly appointed by then Attorney General Merrick Garland because he was not approved by the U.S. Senate.
Smith also was investigating whether Trump criminally attempted to overturn the 2020 election results, including efforts to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to delay certification of the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021.
The probe examined Trump’s role in promoting a false slate of electors and his involvement in the events leading to the U.S. Capitol riot, where his supporters stormed the building after he repeatedly, and without evidence, claimed the election had been “stolen” through widespread voter fraud.
Smith dropped the cases after Trump won the 2024 election in line with a longstanding DOJ policy not to prosecute a sitting president.
Fourteen attorneys who worked on Smith’s team were fired on January 27 due to their involvement in investigating Trump.
Some of DOJ employees fired were identified by Bondi’s “Weaponization Working Group” which is dedicated to evaluating the activities of Smith and affiliates of “weaponization” of the legal system.
The terminations come as the Trump administration is under fire for not releasing information in the Jeffrey Epstein case. During last year’s presidential campaign, Trump suggested he would release files related to Epstein. In February, Bondi released several related documents, none of which contained any new or significant revelations.
Earlier this week, the DOJ and FBI released a two-page memo stating the government found “no incriminating ‘client list’” related to Epstein, triggering major backlash among Democrats and Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters.
FBI deputy director Dan Bongino and Bondi have reportedly clashed over the matter.
The government memo said Epstein, a financier and sex offender, died by suicide in 2019 in his Manhattan jail cell.
Following Jeffrey Epstein’s death in 2019, numerous conspiracy theories emerged, including claims that he was murdered to silence him and speculation about the existence of a secret client list allegedly linking powerful individuals to his crimes.
What People Are Saying
The official X, formerly Twitter, account of the House Judiciary Democrats posted on July 11: “Judiciary Democrats are demanding AG Bondi release the full Jack Smith report and all Epstein files referencing Donald Trump because DOJ’s job is to investigate and prosecute crimes—not cover them up to protect Trump-world.”
Ed Krassenstein, an anti-Trump influencer with 1 million followers, wrote in a Friday X post: “Americans deserve to know every detail of about Jeffrey Epstein. Americans deserve to know every person who buys Trump’s memecoin. Americans deserve to the entire Jack Smith Special Counsel report. WE THE PEOPLE DESERVE FULL TRANSPARENCY.”
Tom Renz, an attorney and author, wrote in a Saturday X post: “Bondi firing people from the Jack Smith trial and J6 cases is absolutely an embarrassing act of CYA. She’s had months to do ANYTHING real and all she’s done is delay and cover for elite p*dos. Too late… unless she drops criminal charges against Pfizer, Gates, Soros, and the Dems behind J6 tomorrow and admits she looted about everything Epstein it’s all just theater.”
Max Stier, chief executive of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, told The Washington Post: “Many, many lawyers have resigned on their own power because they saw the writing on the wall. They understood if they didn’t leave on their own volition, they would be subject to firing—or if they stayed, they felt they couldn’t uphold their oath in a way that was consistent with their integrity.”
Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist and War Room podcast host, said on Saturday: “Yes, you could have Dan Bongino or Pam Bondi resign and make a scene, but that just creates turmoil. What we need right now is not to upend DOJ or FBI. We need to get to the bottom of Epstein. Because Epstein is the key that picks the lock.”
What Happens Next?
Frequent DOJ firings have led some employees to voluntarily leave the department, The Washington Post reported earlier this week.
The post Pam Bondi Fires Staff Linked to Jack Smith’s Trump Investigations appeared first on Newsweek.
