The Justice Department, during the Trump administration, is dismissing over a dozen workers who supported special counsel Jack Smith in prosecuting the former president before the 2024 election. This was confirmed by a spokesperson from the department.

Acting Attorney General James McHenry issued a termination letter to each employee, as confirmed on Monday.

“Acting Attorney General James McHenry took this action because he felt these officials could not be trusted to implement the President’s agenda due to their substantial involvement in prosecuting him,” an additional department official told YSL News in a statement.

Before winning the election in November, Trump stated on a radio program hosted by Hugh Hewitt that he intended to remove Smith from his role. Smith was responsible for leading two prosecutions against Trump, which were abandoned following Trump’s electoral victory. These cases included allegations that Trump unlawfully attempted to overturn the 2020 election results and that he mishandled classified documents following his first term in office.

Smith resigned earlier this month, before Trump’s inauguration on January 20. In a report concerning the election-interference case submitted to former Attorney General Merrick Garland before his departure, Smith claimed there was sufficient evidence to convict Trump.

Numerous officials within the Justice Department have been reassigned as a result of Trump’s return to office to better align the department with the administration’s goals, particularly focusing on immigration policies.

Barbara McQuade, a former federal prosecutor and current law professor at the University of Michigan, criticized the firings and their justification on X.

“The DOJ exists to uphold and defend the Constitution, not to advance the president’s agenda,” McQuade stated.

Trump-appointed prosecutor initiates investigation into Jan. 6 cases

The acting U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Ed Martin, has started an investigation into the Justice Department’s prior decision to pursue felony obstruction charges against hundreds of individuals allegedly involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. This information comes from a report by the Wall Street Journal, which referenced sources familiar with the situation, as well as a report from the Washington Post, which mentioned having seen an email from Martin.

Martin requested that prosecutors provide files, documents, emails, and notes concerning these cases in a Monday email. He characterized his investigation as a “special project” and described the obstruction charges as a misstep.

In June, the Supreme Court determined that prosecutors must examine whether defendants accused of obstructing an official proceeding specifically tried to interfere with items relevant to the January 6 proceedings, such as records and documents. These proceedings were part of the official process to certify then-Vice President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win. A group of Trump supporters entered the Capitol, causing a significant delay to the process.

The Justice Department reported that over 355 defendants were charged with obstruction. However, former Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that no defendant from January 6 faced solely the obstruction charge, and even those who were released from it following the Supreme Court’s decision would still contend with other charges.

On his first day back in office, Trump issued pardons to approximately 1,500 individuals facing charges related to January 6.

(This story has been updated to include further information.)