Attorney General Pam Bondi has fired more than 20 Department of Justice employees who were involved in investigating the January 6 protest and the case regarding President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents, according to a new report.
On Friday, at least 20 employees from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team were let go, including two prosecutors, seven support staff members, and U.S. Marshals, according to reports from Reuters and Axios.
Per Axios:
The firings are part of a massive purge aimed at clearing DOJ of attorneys and support staff who took part in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump for Jan. 6 and possessing classified documents unlawfully.
The new dismissals bring the total Smith-related firings to about 35.
About 15 more could face termination.
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 terminations resulted from the DOJ’s “Weaponization Working Group” investigation.
“We’re reviewing and making sure,” an unidentified administration official reportedly told the outlet. “Some of these people were burrowed deep, and we’re finding them and making a determination.”
The firings were allegedly supposed to happen earlier in the week, but got put on hold as the department faced fallout from the mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Meanwhile, at the State Department, more than 1,300 employees were laid off on Friday as part of a sweeping reorganization aimed at reducing waste and eliminating redundancy.
The layoffs, which began on Friday, resulted in the elimination of 1,107 civil service worker positions and 246 foreign service officer positions, according to internal notices obtained by multiple outlets.
DRAINING THE SWAMP: Laid Off Staffers Filmed Crying as State Department Cuts Over 1,300 Bureaucrats (VIDEOS)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the layoffs will make the department “more efficient and more focused.”
“It’s not a consequence of trying to get rid of people. But if you close the bureau, you don’t need those positions,” Rubio said while speaking to the press on Thursday. “Understand that some of these are positions that are being eliminated, not people.”
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