Friday Night Smackdown at the DOJ—Dozens of J6 Prosecutors Sent Packing

While we wait for Attorney General Nominee Pam Bondi to hopefully be confirmed, Interim D.C. U.S. attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. isn’t sitting around sipping tea, and on late Friday afternoon, he axed about 30 federal prosecutors who worked on J6 cases over the last four years. Different accounts are reporting different numbers, but at this hour, the Associated Press calls it “dozens” of personnel fired while the Washington Post reports “about 30.”

In any case, it’s a significant number:

Interim D.C. U.S. attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., on Friday dismissed about 30 federal prosecutors who have worked on Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot cases over the past four years, undertaking a housecleaning of the top prosecutor’s office in Washington, while preparing to extend the office’s scrutiny to top Democratic leaders and former Justice Department officials, people close to Martin said.

The prosecutors were on probationary status after being converted to full-time from shorter-term positions after Election Day under circumstances the Trump administration is investigating, according to documents from Martin and acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove that were emailed around 5 p.m. and viewed by The Washington Post.

The AP reports that the firings were made at the behest of acting Deputy AG Emil Bove.

Of course, those used to the old way of doing things quickly got their knickers in a twist:

…career prosecutors who have served under presidents of both parties say Martin is politicizing the office and potentially breaking with 50 years of Justice Department policy and practice intended to shield criminal prosecutions from political considerations. They warn that an exodus of veteran prosecutors will threaten public safety and national security, leaving a more pliant institution that could enable Trump’s avowed desire to punish his foes in a second term.

It’s almost laughable to hear these supposed “career prosecutors” whining about politicizing the Justice Department after the banana republic-style antics we’ve been seeing for the last four years under the Biden-Harris-Merrick Garland regime when they seemed more focused on “getting” Trump, prosecuting Catholics and parents and destroying the lives of anyone who was anywhere near the Capitol on January 6 than they were about nabbing terrorists and keeping our country safe.

The corruption of the justice system is exactly what these terminations are aimed at—digging out the rot that has infected the various bureaucracies. And it’s not the first shot in that endeavor fired by the nascent administration:

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You Make the Call: Resign or Be Fired: Several Senior FBI Leaders Have Been Informed They Have Until Monday to Get Out

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That wasn’t Martin’s only move, however, and on January 21 he sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) inquiring about Schumer’s incendiary comments aimed at the Supreme Court in 2020 when he appeared to call for violence against the justices.

Remember this?

Martin remembers, and he wants answers:

[Martin] … appeared to set his sights on scrutinizing the nation’s top elected Democrat, sending what he called a “letter of inquiry” to Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) about his quickly walked-back statement in a March 2020 rally that two of Trump’s recently nominated Supreme Court justices, Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh, would “pay the price” for a vote against abortion rights.

“We take threats against public officials very seriously. I look forward to your cooperation,” Martin wrote Schumer in a Jan. 21 letter obtained by The Post.

RedState will bring you more details about this Friday night smackdown as they become available.