Justice Department FIRES Employees Who Worked On Former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Prosecutions Against President Trump

The Justice Department fired more than 20 employees who worked on cases involving special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutions of President Trump.

Multiple outlets report the firings are part of a purge aimed at attorneys and support staff who worked on the prosecutions.

To date, there have been 35 dismissals of Justice Department employees who worked on Smith’s two investigations.

There could be at least 15 more firings.

Attorney General Pam Bondi fired multiple Justice Department employees who were involved in two federal prosecutions of President Donald Trump during the Biden administration, including two prosecutors who worked under former special counsel Jack Smith. https://t.co/Xeq3tgIZPZ

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 12, 2025

Axios provided further details:

Reuters reported Friday night that nine staffers had been let go, but Axios sources said the number was 20 and as many as 37 people could ultimately be let go from offices in Washington, Virginia, Florida and other parts of the country.

The 20 ousted Friday included lawyers, support staff and U.S. marshals, one Justice official said. In some cases, the staffers had volunteered for duty to investigate or prosecute Trump. Prior to Bondi taking office, 14 other Smith-related officials were fired.

The staffers were identified in an internal investigation by Bondi’s “Weaponization Working Group,” which she established shortly after taking office as part of an effort to purge entrenched political enemies of Trump.

It’s unclear how many of the remaining 15-17 employees will be dismissed as part of the internal “weaponization” review.

“We’re reviewing and making sure,” an administration official said. “Some of these people were burrowed deep, and we’re finding them and making a determination.”

The “Weaponization Working Group” is reviewing the two federal cases against Trump and the prosecutions of individuals charged for January 6th.

Smith’s team brought indictments against Trump related to the handling of classified documents and the 2020 presidential election.

Both witch hunts were withdrawn after Trump won the 2024 presidential election.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has fired at least 20 prosecutors and support staffers who assisted former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into President Donald Trump, sources said.

Read more: https://t.co/iDs3mRv3kC pic.twitter.com/5PfvCyGdU5

— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 13, 2025

More info from CBS News:

It is also reviewing the Trump legal cases in New York — the “hush money” trial pursued by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the civil enforcement action against the Trump Organization brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James — neither of which involved federal prosecutors.

As the Justice Department began collecting information about the FBI agents who worked on Jan. 6 investigations and fired career prosecutors who worked on the cases, Bondi said in her directive that the working group would investigate “improper investigative tactics and unethical prosecutions” versus “good faith actions by federal employees simply following orders.”

CBS News has reached out to the Justice Department for comment on the firings.

One of the staffers who has been fired was Patty Hartman, who served as a top public affairs specialist at the FBI and federal prosecutors’ offices. Hartman was fired Monday via a letter from the attorney general. She worked on the District of Columbia U.S. Attorney’s Office public affairs team that distributed news releases about the more than 1,500 Jan. 6 criminal prosecutions.

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