The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly reassigned multiple senior officials to various departments ahead of the expected confirmation of the president Donald TrumpNomination of Pam Bondi for US Attorney General.
Fox News has been told that multiple professional staffers in the DOJ’s criminal and national security divisions have been removed from their current positions and reassigned.
While it’s hard to fire a person from a career “just because,” reassignment is possible, and it appears to have happened.
Of those who were transferred to other positions within DOJ was Bruce Schwartz, the head of the Interior Department’s extradition office, a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press. The same person allegedly told reporters that about 20 employees had been transferred.
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Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department as Attorney General, was sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee at her confirmation hearing, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 15. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Also reportedly being moved is George Toscas, an experienced deputy assistant attorney general in the national security division who not only helped oversee major terrorism and espionage investigations but also has been a key figure in politically motivated investigations over the past 10 years.
Toscas was involved in the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified information, as well as the investigation into Trump’s possession of classified documents in Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
Toscas’ transfer was confirmed to The Associated Press by another person familiar with the matter.
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Former President Trump headlines the Republican National Committee’s spring fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida on May 4, 2024. (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)
“He’s seen everything in both counterterrorism and counterintelligence,” a former colleague of Toscas, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Washington Post. “There is no one in the department who knows as much about prosecuting and investigating terrorists and spies as George Toscas.”
The Washington Post also learned from sources familiar with the matter that Eun Young Choi, another deputy assistant attorney general in the national security division, has been reassigned within the department, and was notified of the change by email Monday afternoon.
The DOJ declined to comment on the changes.
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Department of Justice in Washington, DC (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Hours after Trump was sworn in, the DOJ fired at least four senior officials from the department that manages the nation’s immigration courts, which are currently backlogged.
The Washington Post reported that there is a 120-day moratorium on some staff reassignments after newly confirmed leaders begin their appointments, according to federal guidelines. Bondi has not yet been confirmed; therefore, the moratorium is not yet in effect at the DOJ.
Currently, James McHenry leads the DOJ as Acting US Attorney after Merrick Garland is gone department on Friday.
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The reasons for the moves were not immediately known, although it is common for a new administration to appoint its own employees to lead the DOJ.
The moves could also signal further changes, given Trump’s interest in the department, which investigated him during his first term and charged him twice last year in separate cases that never went to trial and were dropped after Trump’s election victory in November.
