US Justice Department fires two tied to Trump probes, people familiar say

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By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department this week fired two more employees who worked on investigations into President Donald Trump’s retention of classified records and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Including those two, the Justice Department has fired 17 people who worked on former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team prosecuting Trump since he returned to power in January.

One of the people fired on Monday worked as a lawyer on Smith’s team and also previously helped prosecute some of the defendants who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 in a failed bid to block Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s election win over Trump.

The second person who was also fired Monday worked in a support staff role for Smith’s team, the people added.

The firings were ordered by Attorney General Pam Bondi, the people said. Both people were most recently working in different divisions at the department.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.

Fourteen attorneys were fired en masse on January 27 because of their work on the cases against Trump. In April, the Justice Department fired a career public affairs employee who had served as a spokesperson for Smith.

Trump, who faced criminal charges in four different federal and state prosecutions, campaigned for president on a vow to exact retribution against his political enemies.

He has long accused the Justice Department of targeting him for political reasons – a claim that Smith’s team repeatedly denied in court filings.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Stephen Coates)