Justice Department fires more than a dozen key officials on former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team

EXCLUSIVE: The Justice Department is firing more than a dozen key officials who worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team prosecuting President Donald Trump, after Acting Attorney General James McHenry said they could not be trusted in “faithfully implementing the president’s agenda,” Fox News Digital has learned. 

McHenry has transmitted a letter to each official notifying them of their termination, a Justice Department official exclusively told Fox News Digital.

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It is unclear how many officials received that letter. The names of the individuals were not immediately released. 

Donald Trump and Jack Smith  (Getty Images)

“Today, Acting Attorney General James McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DOJ officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump,” a DOJ official told Fox News Digital. “In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda.” 

This action “is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponization of government,” the official told Fox News Digital.

The move comes after the Justice Department reassigned more than a dozen officials in the first week of the Trump administration to a Sanctuary City task force and other measures. 

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It also comes after Trump vowed to end the weaponization of the federal government. 

Former Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith, a former Justice Department official, as special counsel in November 2022. 

Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and chief to the DOJ’s public integrity section, led the investigation into Trump’s retention of classified documents after leaving the White House and whether the former president obstructed the federal government’s investigation into the matter. 

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Smith was also tasked with overseeing the investigation into whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021. 

Smith charged Trump in both cases, but Trump pleaded not guilty.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan created the subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government during the previous Congress.  (Andrew Harnik/The Associated Press )

The classified records case was dismissed in July 2024 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel. 

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Smith charged Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington D.C. in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request. 

Both cases were dismissed.