Pam Bondi fires three Jan. 6 prosecutors, sending another chill through DOJ workforce
WASHINGTON — At least three federal prosecutors who worked on cases against Jan. 6 rioters were fired Friday by the Justice Department, according to more than half a dozen current and former officials familiar with the dismissals.
A copy of one of the dismissal letters seen by NBC News was signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, notifying the recipient that they were 'removed from federal service effective immediately.' No reason for the removal was stated in the letter.
One of the fired employees had been based overseas.
The Justice Department declined to comment Friday night.
Follow live politics coverage here.
The Trump administration in late January fired probationary federal prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases and prosecutors who worked on former special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into President Donald Trump. The administration also demoted some career prosecutors who worked on the Capitol siege investigation.
Probationary workers are either recent hires or have taken new positions.
The firings on Friday, though, marked the first time that career prosecutors who had worked Jan. 6 cases and who were past their probationary period of federal employment had been fired. It was also the first time Bondi fired Justice Department lawyers involved in prosecuting Jan. 6 cases. Bondi was confirmed by the Senate in February, after the dismissal of probationary prosecutors.
The firings come at a time when the fallout from the Jan. 6 investigation — and Trump's subsequent mass pardon of even the most violent rioters — continues to loom over employees at both the Justice Department and the FBI. Numerous current and former officials have told NBC News that the targeting of people who worked on the largest investigation in FBI history have had a chilling effect on the Justice Department workforce, and would leave career prosecutors and FBI officials hesitant to pursue cases against any Trump allies for fear of being targeted by the administration.
One federal law enforcement official called Friday's firings 'horrifying' and noted that both of the prosecutors had been serving in other capacities before the 2024 election.
'To fire them, without explanation, is a slap in the face not only to them, but to all career DOJ prosecutors,' the official said. 'No one is safe from this administration's whims and impulses. And the public certainly is not served by the continued brain drain of DOJ — we are losing the best among us every day.'
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Senate Unveils New Trump Tax Draft With Plans to Vote Soon
(Bloomberg) -- Senate Republicans unveiled a new version of their $4.2 trillion tax cut package, moving closer to a vote as they near a July 4 deadline set by President Donald Trump. Philadelphia Transit System Votes to Cut Service by 45%, Hike Fares US Renters Face Storm of Rising Costs Squeezed by Crowds, the Roads of Central Park Are Being Reimagined Sprawl Is Still Not the Answer Mapping the Architectural History of New York's Chinatown The new draft reflects compromises among warring factions of the Senate GOP which has been divided over how much to cut safety-net programs such as Medicaid and how rapidly to phase out of renewable energy tax credits enacted under the Biden administration. A tentative deal with House Republicans to increase the state and local tax deduction is included. The bill would raise the SALT deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000 for five years before snapping back to the $10,000 level. The new cap applies to 2025 and rises 1% in subsequent years. Republicans plan to start voting on the tax bill Saturday with final votes coming as soon as early Sunday. Party leaders plan to bring House members back to Washington early next week for what they hope will be final approval of the measure in time for Trump's Independence Day deadline. It is not yet clear if the 50 Senate Republicans needed to pass the bill are all on board. The bill can be further altered on the Senate floor to secure the votes if needed. The House could make more changes if Speaker Mike Johnson has trouble corralling votes for the measure. To win over moderate Republicans, the bill would create a new $25 billion rural hospital fund aimed at helping some Medicaid providers avoid cuts. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, however, had demanded a $100 billion fund. Moderate Republicans also won a delay from 2031 to 2032 for when a new 3.5% cap on state Medicaid provider taxes takes effect. The provider tax is a gimmick by which states boost their federal Medicaid reimbursement rates and many states have come to rely on the practice. Another change in the measure is that a tax credit for hydrogen production wouldn't be phased out until 2028 for projects that begin construction before then. Previous version ended the credit after 2025. The measure would avert a US payment default as soon as August by raising the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. --With assistance from Ari Natter and Mike Dorning. (Updates with details of bill starting in third paragraph) America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried How to Steal a House Inside Gap's Last-Ditch, Tariff-Addled Turnaround Push Luxury Counterfeiters Keep Outsmarting the Makers of $10,000 Handbags Apple Test-Drives Big-Screen Movie Strategy With F1 ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Job openings among the largest U.S. federal contractors have plummeted at 25x the rate of all other jobs amid DOGE cuts, report finds
While job openings have broadly remained steady, opportunities in private-sector government contractors have plummeted, according to new data from Indeed. A 15% drop in job listings for the 25 largest U.S. government contractors since Jan. 20 coincides with mass funding cuts facilitated by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Elon Musk's mass spending cuts across the government have not just slashed the federal workforce, but may also have axed job opportunities among the largest government contractors in the private sector. Since the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term, job openings for the 25 private-sector companies with the largest government contracts have dropped 15%, according to a report published on Thursday by the Indeed Hiring Lab. Listings for all other jobs dipped only 0.6% in the same period. The precipitous drop in job opportunities at massive government contractors—such as Boeing, Honeywell and Deloitte (though the data does not analyze job openings for the individual companies)—coincides with the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) culling of private-sector contracts, part of the advisory's efforts to reduce so-called government waste and abuse. DOGE claims to have saved taxpayers $180 billion in workforce reductions, contract and lease cancellations, and other spending cuts, though experts warn the advisory's calculations are inaccurate and inflated. These cuts have made their mark on the private sector, with tech companies like Oracle and Leidos reportedly having contracts terminated by DOGE as part of the Pentagon's goal to slash $580 million in funding. The cuts have also hit Big Four consulting companies like Deloitte, which saw the elimination of at least 120 contracts totalling more than $1 billion, according to a Fortune analysis from April. Stark disparities in job opportunities available overall compared to the 25 major contractors may indicate these companies are starting to make tough decisions following DOGE cuts, according to Cory Stahle, the report's author and economist at the Hiring Lab. 'It's clear that these [cuts to government] funding are having an impact on some of these companies—hiring plans and where they see things going in the coming months—especially as they've seen potential pullback to their streams of funding from the government,' Stahle told Fortune. Companies have begun to report the impact of these cuts. Tech consultancy Accenture warned in March the Trump administration's cost-cutting could impact sales and revenue. Federal contracts make up about 8% of its global revenue and 16% of its Americas revenue in fiscal 2024. The company reported a quarterly earnings beat last week, but a 6% decrease in bookings. Chief financial officer Angie Park said the impact of federal funding cuts on the business, though, was 'immaterial.' Booz Allen Hamilton, a consultancy among the top 25 contractors, which derives about 98% of its revenue from government contracts, announced it would lay off about 2,500 employees, primarily staff involved in parts of the company working for non-defense U.S. agencies. 'All presidential transitions create some degree of near-term disruption, followed by opportunity,' Booz Allen CEO Horacio Rozanski said in an earnings call. 'We now see that these dynamics are indeed in play, at a rate and speed that is beyond what we originally expected.' What concerns Indeed's economist Stahle about the data related to job openings is how much government-contractor jobs have been impacted compared to the rest of the labor market. Since February 2024, job listings for positions at government contractors have plummeted 44%, according to the Indeed data, while all other listings have increased 14% since before COVID. While the number of job openings have more broadly stabilized, the recent data indicates the trend of government-contractor job listings 'is not changing the way the rest of the labor market is changing,' Stahle said. 'We're starting to see a break in patterns, which I think is what's most notable about this,' he added. Fewer job listings for these massive private-sector contractors may mean fewer opportunities for fired federal workers seeking news jobs, particularly as applications among this demographic soared in the spring as a result of DOGE's mass workforce cuts. Most of these fired federal employees are knowledge workers looking for white-collar positions usually offered by government contractors, according to Stahle. Not only are fewer job openings available to these federal workers, but also to college students and young professionals entering the workforce. 'The broader labor market impact could be much larger than a 25-company series might indicate,' Stahle said. 'We want to hit that soft landing we've been talking about for a couple years, and hopefully start to see things turn around. We don't want to continue to go down forever.' This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US Department of Justice sues Washington over ‘anti-Catholic' law
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The United States Department of Justice is suing the State of Washington over a new law some have deemed 'anti-Catholic.' The lawsuit stems from , which requires clergy members to report child abuse and neglect, even if the information is shared with a priest during confession. The bill was signed into law by Washington Governor Bob Ferguson in May and takes effect July 27. On Monday, The DOJ filed a motion to intervene — or a motion to join — an existing lawsuit against the state that was filed by the Archdiocese of Seattle. These are the Pacific Northwest wines that won big at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards The DOJ argues that the Washington state law violates the free exercise of religion for all Catholics because it requires priests to break the confidentiality seal of confession, which could lead priests to be excommunicated from the Catholic Church. The DOJ claims this violates the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. 'Laws that explicitly target religious practices such as the Sacrament of Confession in the Catholic Church have no place in our society,' said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Oregon appeals court finds gun forensics method is not 'scientifically valid' 'Senate Bill 5375 unconstitutionally forces Catholic priests in Washington to choose between their obligations to the Catholic Church and their penitents or face criminal consequences, while treating the priest-penitent privilege differently than other well-settled privileges. The Justice Department will not sit idly by when States mount attacks on the free exercise of religion,' Dhillon added. The Justice Department's motion to intervene is pending before the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington in Tacoma. In a statement to KOIN 6 News in response to the DOJ's suit, Governor Ferguson said, 'It is disappointing, but not surprising, to see the DOJ seek to shield and protect child abusers.' Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now A spokesperson for Washington Attorney General Nick Brown told KOIN 6 News that Brown's office does not comment on most pending litigation, noting they are reviewing the complaint and will respond in court. Washington State Senator Noel Frame (D-Seattle), who is the prime sponsor of SB 5375, added, 'We must take every step possible to make sure kids are safe. That's why I championed this bill and that's why it passed with bipartisan support. This law brings us in line with the majority of other states that require clergy to be mandatory reporters of abuse and neglect. We also join six other states – including Texas and Oklahoma – that require the reporting of abuse learned during penitential communication, including confession.' 'Whether you're from a red state or a blue state, keeping kids safe from abuse should be a non-partisan issue,' Frame continued. Portland bar hosts 'In Bed By 10' happy hour DJ parties The DOJ's filing comes after the Archdiocese of Seattle filed a lawsuit against Washington over the law, with Archbishop Paul D. Etienne releasing a statement in May threatening to excommunicate Catholic clergy who follow the law. Archbishop Etienne cited Acts 5:29, 'We must obey God rather than men,' saying, 'this is our stance now in the face of this new law. Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession – or they will be excommunicated from the Church. All Catholics must know and be assured that their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential and protected by the law of the Church.' The Archbishop added that the church agrees with protecting children and preventing child abuse, noting the Archdiocese of Seattle already has mandatory reporter policies for priests. However, those rules don't apply to information received during confession. 'Transformational partnership': Pac-12 reaches deal with CBS for football, men's basketball games 'During Confession, penitent Catholics confess aloud their sins to a Catholic priest, asking God for forgiveness,' the lawsuit argues. 'The seal of confidentiality is, therefore, the lifeblood of Confession. Without it, the free exercise of the Catholic religion, i.e. the apostolic duties performed by the Catholic priest to the benefit of Catholic parishioners, cannot take place.' Meanwhile, others argue that the law is not 'anti-Catholic,' rather, the law is focused on protecting children and getting abusers off the streets. In a phone call with KOIN 6 News, Mary Dispenza — representing the Pacific Northwest branch of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests — said it is 'absurd that they would file a suit' because SB 5375 is advocating to protect children. 'It's hard for me to believe that a bishop would file a suit,' Dispenza said, adding that the bill 'is not anti-Catholic. It's the best of Catholicism.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
