New leadership at the Justice Department, a frequent target of President Donald Trump’s criticism due to its two criminal cases against him, has moved swiftly to reassign at least 20 career officials, effectively sidelining them from senior roles they’ve held for years, according to multiple sources familiar with the changes.
Key U.S. attorney offices in New York and Washington, D.C., have also undergone significant shake-ups, CNN reported on Tuesday. At DOJ headquarters in Washington, those reassigned include senior lawyers in the criminal and national security divisions as well as prosecutors handling international affairs, including extraditions and immigration cases, the sources said.
In several cases, experienced career prosecutors have been instructed to report to a newly formed task force in the coming weeks. Justice Department officials see this move as a potential effort to encourage some of these career lawyers—who are typically safeguarded during transitions between administrations—to consider leaving the department.
Federal civil service regulations generally shield career employees at the Justice Department and other agencies from being reassigned for at least 120 days after new leadership assumes control, CNN reported. But after that period of time has passed, it’s highly likely Trump’s team at DOJ will be making further moves to clear up the deep state bureaucracy and mindset within the department.
That said, Trump administration officials seem to be interpreting the 120-day rule as inapplicable in this case, arguing that the Department of Justice is currently led by an acting attorney general and deputy attorney general while Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi awaits confirmation. As a result, they contend that new leadership has not officially begun, according to one of the sources.
The changes may prompt complaints to the Merit Systems Protection Board, a quasi-judicial agency tasked with protecting civil servants from political retaliation during transitions between administrations. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Ed Martin, a socially conservative activist and commentator, has been appointed as the acting U.S. attorney.
In the Eastern District of New York, career prosecutor John Durham has been appointed as interim U.S. attorney. Durham, the son of the former special counsel who investigated the origins of the FBI’s probe into Trump’s 2016 campaign, previously led the district’s Long Island office. He joined the U.S. attorney’s office in 2005 and has extensive experience prosecuting and overseeing cases involving MS-13 gang members, CNN reported.
Danielle Sassoon has been named the interim head of the Southern District of New York. Sassoon was part of the team that successfully prosecuted FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried for fraud and Lawrence Ray, who was convicted of sex trafficking students from Sarah Lawrence College. Before joining the office in 2016, Sassoon clerked for two federal judges, including Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court, the outlet added.
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