New York University law professor Ryan Goodman on Friday sounded the alarm on Donald Trump’s reported plan to fire those who worked with special counsel Jack Smith to pursue federal prosecutions against him.
Goodman, in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett, called the reported plan “extraordinary on so many levels” before adding that the firings would affect “civil servants who have legal protections” including those who probably didn’t have a choice but to work with Smith’s team.
“And they might be some of the best in the country so to fire those people categorically who have protections, which also means that it would be probably illegal firings,” he added.
He continued, “And a huge part of the Justice Department and Pam Bondi will be caught up in a huge amount of employment litigation over all of their claims were they to go down that path. So it’s just very destructive. It smacks of political retribution.”
Goodman said the idea of Trump announcing such firings — or reports on the plan before there is “any kind of investigation” into members of Smith’s team — would give those fired “very strong legal claims.”
His remarks arrive after a source told The Washington Post that Trump intends to “clean out ‘the bad guys, the people who went after me’” from the Department of Justice.
The plan would be in step with Trump repeatedly threatening to prosecute or punish his perceived enemies since 2022.
Smith, who looks to wind down the federal prosecutions against Trump, is reportedly expected to step down from his post before the president-elect takes office and potentially fires him.
A source told The Post that Trump also plans to use the DOJ to investigate the 2020 election, a contest that he has falsely claimed to be “rigged” and “stolen.”
Democracy In The Balance
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Trump, after former Rep. Matt Gaetzwithdrew his nomination to be the president-elect’s attorney general, has since picked longtime ally and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the DOJ.
H/T: Mediaite