The country’s top weather and climate monitoring agency has become the latest target of layoffs within the federal government, according to Democratic lawmakers speaking out against the Trump administration.
At least 880 workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the country’s national weather service, were fired Thursday, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a press release as the Trump administration works to downsize and cut federal costs.
“The firings jeopardize our ability to forecast and respond to extreme weather events like hurricanes, wildfires and floods — putting communities in harm’s way,” Cantwell added.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in a post on X Thursday, seconded Cantwell’s claim, writing, “Today, we learned that Trump and Musk are firing HUNDREDS of vital NOAA employees — another blatantly illegal action that must be stopped.”
‘FIRED ME ILLEGALLY’: EMOTIONAL EX-USAID EMPLOYEES LEAVE BUILDING WITH BELONGINGS AFTER MASS LAYOFFS
Democratic lawmakers say Musk is behind the layoffs at NOAA. (Getty Images)
Another Democrat, Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., also reported “unconscionable” mass firings at the weather agency.
“Once again, the reckless Trump Administration is inflicting tremendous harm upon the American people. Today, hundreds of employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including weather forecasters at the National Weather Service (NWS), were given termination notices for no good reason,” Meng wrote in a statement.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (Andrew Harnik)
The reported layoffs come just weeks after Van Hollen said he heard reports that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was “targeting” the weather agency in early February.
Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, wrote the cuts were “profoundly alarming” and affected “meteorologists, data and computer scientists responsible for maintaining and upgrading weather predictive models, and technicians responsible for maintaining the nation’s weather instrumentation network.
Over 800 employees were reportedly fired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week.(AP Images)
“This is not, in short, an acceptable setting in which to ‘move fast and break things.’”
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A NOAA spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “Per long-standing practice, we are not discussing internal personnel and management matters,” adding the agency “remains dedicated to its mission, providing timely information, research and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation’s environmental and economic resilience.”
President Donald Trump directed the Justice Department to fire all U.S. attorneys left over from the Biden administration.
“We must “clean house” IMMEDIATELY, and restore confidence,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.” America’s Golden Age must have a fair Justice System – THAT BEGINS TODAY!”
This story is breaking. Please check back for updates.
Eight former inspectors general fired by President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit to get their positions back. In the complaint, the inspectors general claimed that their “unlawful and unjustified purported termination” constituted interference with their “non-partisan oversight duties.”
While President Trump has the authority to remove inspectors general, he did not give Congress the mandatory 30-day minimum notice ahead of removing those who launched the complaint. The eight former inspectors general say that the president also failed to provide a “substantive, case-specific rationale” for their removal.
The complaint, which details the backgrounds of the former inspectors general, insists that “until and unless” President Trump “lawfully removes” the plaintiffs from their positions, they remain “duly appointed” inspectors general.
President Trump removed inspectors general in his first term and gave Congress the required 30 days’ notice, which the complaint acknowledges.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 03, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
INSPECTOR GENERAL DISMISSED BY TRUMP CALLS MASS FIRINGS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY
The inspectors general dismissed by President Trump served in several departments, including the Defense Department, the State Department, the Energy Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veteran Affairs.
According to the complaint, each of the inspectors general were notified of their termination in what it classifies as “substantively identical” emails. The notices allegedly stated that they were terminated “effective immediately” due to “changing priorities.”
The firings, which occurred last month, were met with criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. In a letter to President Trump signed by several Democrats and one Republican, lawmakers expressed “grave concern” over the firings, saying they were done “unlawfully and arbitrarily.”
“Your actions violate the law, attack our democracy, and undermine the safety of the American people,” the letter reads.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Ia., a key player in the president’s party, called on Trump to provide a “lawfully-required substantive rationale” for the firings.
Grassley, who serves as the Senate Judiciary Committee chair, and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Il., the committee’s Ranking Member, sent a letter to President Trump urging him to reveal the reasons behind the firings so Congress and the public could be sure that the action was taken due to “real concerns.”
President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025.(Getty Images)
WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY DEFENDS TRUMP’S FIRING OF INSPECTORS GENERAL
Shortly after his firing, Mike Ware, who served as the chair of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, called the firings a “threat to democracy.” Ware is one of the former inspectors general who filed the complaint.
“We’re looking at what amounts to a threat to democracy, a threat to independent oversight and a threat to transparency in government. This is no doubt. The statute isn’t just a technicality, it’s a key protection of IG independence is what it is,” Ware told MSNBC’s “Ana Cabrera Reports” back in January.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Miami to Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Jan. 27, as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt listens. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the mass firings last month, saying the Trump administration would “win in court” when asked if the actions would survive a legal challenge. President Trump said the firings were “a very common” and “a very standard” practice, which the former inspectors general deny in their complaint.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
The White House has fired the inspector general of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Fox News has learned.
USAID Inspector General Paul Martin was fired Tuesday, though rather than coming from USAID acting administrator and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the firing reportedly came from the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
The dismissal comes days after the USAID inspector general published a report that was critical of the Trump administration’s pause on aid.
It also comes a day after USAID warned that the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID had made it all but impossible to monitor $8.2 billion in humanitarian funds.
DESIGNATED TERRORISTS, EXTREMIST GROUPS RAKED IN MILLIONS FROM USAID, MULTIYEAR STUDY REVEALS
A United States Agency for International Development (USAID) flag in front of the agency’s offices in Washington, D.C.(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
USAID is under fire from the Trump administration as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its chair, Elon Musk, investigate the agency’s spending practices and prepare to revamp and potentially shutter the agency.
The agency announced on its website Feb. 4, that nearly all personnel would be placed on leave by Friday, making a few exceptions for those in roles related to “mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.”
Its overseas missions reportedly had also been told to shut down.
USAID EMPLOYEE SAYS STAFFERS HID PRIDE FLAGS, ‘INCRIMINATING’ BOOKS WHEN DOGE ARRIVED
The Trump administration fired USAID’s inspector general on Tuesday.(AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File/Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Lawmakers, news outlets and think tanks have dug into past reports related to USAID spending amid the apparent dismantling of the agency, finding countless examples of money channeled to questionable organizations or programs, such as creating a version of “Sesame Street” in Iraq, or funding pottery classes in Morocco.
This week, it was discovered that USAID provided millions of dollars in funding to extremist groups tied to designated terrorist organizations and their allies, according to a report published by Middle East Forum, a U.S. think tank.
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USAID was established in 1961 under the Kennedy administration, operating as an independent agency that works closely with the State Department to allocate civilian foreign aid.
Under Rubio, the agency could be abolished after its reorganization over the coming days, he said in a letter to bipartisan lawmakers on Feb. 3.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @GregWehner.
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
Here’s what’s happening…
–House Dems organize rapid response task force and litigation group to combat Trump agenda
-$1,300 coffee cups, 8,000% overpay for soap dispensers show waste as DOGE locks in on Pentagon
-Noem, Hegseth and Bondi plead with Congress for border money amid large-scale deportations
You’re fired!
The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News that “four employees are being fired today for circumventing leadership and unilaterally making the egregious payment for hotels for migrants in New York City.”
The firings come after Elon Musk wrote on X Monday that “The DOGE team just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants.”
“Firings include FEMA’s Chief Financial Officer, two program analysts and a grant specialist,” the DHS also said. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS will not sit idly and allow deep state activists to undermine the will and safety of the American people.”…Read more
Musk claimed that FEMA sent millions to house migrants in NYC.(Getty Images)
White House
NOT SO FAST: Judge blocks Trump order limiting ‘indirect’ NIH research costs after public outcry…Read more
GOODBYE GREEN STANDARDS: Trump reverses Biden crackdown on lightbulbs and dishwashers, returning to ‘common sense standards’…Read more
‘DEREGULATORY FLAVOR’: Here’s JD Vance’s vision for the future of AI under the Trump administration…Read more
CASE DISMISSED: Federal appeals court dismisses classified records case against former Trump co-defendants…Read more
A federal appeals court dismissed the charges brought against Waltine Nauta, Donald Trump’s valet, and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.(Getty)
REACHING NEW HIGHS: Trump has higher approval rating than at any point during first term…Read more
NO MORE PAPER: Trump signs executive order ending ‘forced use of paper straws’…Read more
DOCUMENTS DRAMA: FBI must release Mar-a-Lago probe records despite Trump’s criminal immunity: judge…Read more
‘SO WASTEFUL’: How Trump might get rid of the penny – and what could come next for your pocket change…Read more
World Stage
‘HORRIFYING’: Extremist groups raked in millions of dollars from USAID, multiyear study reveals…Read more
Anwar Al-Awlaki at Dar al Hijrah Mosque on October 4 2001 in Falls Church, VA, inserted over a USAID flag. (Getty Images)
Capitol Hill
BINGE WATCHING: GOP lawmakers set sights on PBS, NPR amid Trump’s DOGE crackdown…Read more
‘IN GOOD SPIRITS’: Democrat lawmaker freezes on House floor after suffering adverse reaction to medication…Read more
‘TRUST PRESIDENT TRUMP’: Murkowski and Cassidy announce they’ll vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to Trump cabinet post…Read more
Left: Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska; Center: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii; Right: U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). (Left: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Center: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Right: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
LOCKING IN LABOR: Lori Chavez-DeRemer: The little-known Trump nominee who may need to rely on Dems to cross finish line…Read more
REBEL FORCE: GOP rebels mutiny against House leaders as Trump budget bill talks hit impasse…Read more
Across America
‘NEW IDEAS’: Trump nominees debut new science journal aimed at spurring scientific discourse, increasing transparency…Read more
NO JAIL FOR BANNON: Steven Bannon pleads guilty to scheme to defraud in border wall fundraiser, avoids jail time…Read more
BACKING PATEL: More than half a million law enforcement personnel back Patel to be FBI director…Read more
‘I AM RUNNING’: Former Biden cabinet member launches New Mexico gubernatorial bid…Read more
NEW PROTOCOL: Louisiana resumes executions after 15-year pause, approves use of nitrogen gas method…Read more
‘ISN’T IT BEAUTIFUL?’: Google Maps, FAA officially acknowledges Gulf of America after Trump declaration…Read more
Google Maps has begun referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.(AP/Google Maps)
BIPARTISAN BET: Super Bowl inspires bipartisan wager as Pennsylvania senators go ‘all in for the birds’…Read more
NEW ‘PROJECT?’: Heritage president reacts to ‘Project 2025′ promptly dropping from liberals’ lips as DOGE takes ax to DC…Read more
‘WIN FOR EVERY STUDENT’: DOGE slashes over $100M in DEI funding at Education Department: ‘Win for every student’…Read more
Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
President Donald Trump on Friday announced he is revoking former President Joe Biden’s security clearances and stopping his daily intelligence briefings.
“There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Friday night.
The privileges will be revoked immediately, according to the President.
He added the precedent was set by Biden himself.
“He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents,” Trump wrote.
The president noted the Hur Report, which he claimed “revealed that Biden suffers from ‘poor memory’ and, even in his ‘prime,’ could not be trusted with sensitive information,” according to the post.
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Trump said he will always protect National Security.
“JOE, YOU’RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” he wrote.
Alexandra Koch is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Prior to joining Fox News, Alexandra covered breaking news, crime, religion, and the military in the southeast.
President Donald Trump fired the U.S. Federal Election Commission Commissioner and Chair Ellen Weintraub, sending her a letter regarding her “removal.”
Trump took office Jan. 20, and since then has taken on a massive government makeover, sidelining and firing hundreds of top agency officials and civil servants as he attempts to install more loyalists and downsize the bureaucracy.
Weintraub, like many others, was in Trump’s crosshairs, but she did not appear to be standing down.
“Received a letter from POTUS today purporting to remove me as Commissioner & Chair of [the FEC],” Weintraub wrote Thursday in a post on X. “There’s a legal way to replace FEC commissioners — this isn’t it. I’ve been lucky to serve the American people & stir up some good trouble along the way. That’s not changing anytime soon.”
HOUSE GOP DEMANDS FEC PROBE ‘POTENTIALLY ILLEGAL’ ACTBLUE FUNDRAISING AS DEM PLATFORM HAULS HARRIS MILLIONS
U.S. Federal Election Commission Commissioner Ellen Weintraub Jan. 14, 2020, in Washington, D.C.(Federal Election Commission/Handout via Reuters, File)
Along with her post, Weintraub posted a copy of the letter from the White House.
“Dear Commissioner Weintraub,” the letter states. “You are hereby removed as a Member of the Federal Election Commission, effective immediately. Thank you for your service on the Commission.”
The letter was dated Jan. 31, 2025, and signed by Trump.
FEC CHAIR: TRUMP IS ‘DAMAGING TO OUR DEMOCRACY’ WITH ‘BASELESS’ VOTER FRAUD ALLEGATIONS
Weintraub took aim at President Trump in 2019, when she said his “baseless” claims about voter fraud were “damaging to our democracy.”
She criticized the president during an appearance on CNN and claimed he was spreading information for which he had no proof.
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“I think it is damaging to our democracy,” Weintraub told host John Berman, “to spread information like that if there is no proof.”
Weintraub insisted there was no evidence of rampant voter fraud in 2016, responding to Trump’s repeated claims to the contrary.
Fox News Digital’s Joshua Nelson contributed to this report.
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @GregWehner.
Fox News correspondent David Spunt has the latest on the debate surrounding President Donald Trump’s efforts to overhaul the FBI and Justice Department on ‘Special Report.’
FBI employees who “simply followed orders” with respect to their investigations into Jan. 6 defendants will not be fired or face any other penalties, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove confirmed in an internal memo.
Bove’s memo this week accused Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll of refusing to reply to requests from President Donald Trump’s administration to identify “the core team in Washington, D.C. responsible for the investigation relating to events on January 6, 2021.”
“That insubordination necessitated, among other things, the directive in my January 31, 2025 memo to identify all agents assigned to investigations relating to January 6, 2021. In light of acting leadership’s refusal to comply with the narrower request, the written directive was intended to obtain a complete data set that the Justice Department can reliably pare down to the core team that will be the focus of the weaponization review pursuant to the Executive Order,” Bove wrote.
“Let me be clear: No FBI employee who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner with respect to January 6 investigations is at risk of termination or other penalties,” Bove continued. “The only individuals who should be concerned about the process initiated by my January 31, 2025 memo are those who acted with corrupt or partisan intent, who blatantly defied orders from Department leadership, or who exercised discretion in weaponizing the FBI.”
FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION
Acting leadership at the FBI is refusing to cooperate with President Donald Trump’s administration, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove claimed in a memo.(AP/iStock)
“There is no honor in the ongoing efforts to distort that simple truth or protect culpable actors from scrutiny on these issues, which have politicized the Bureau, harmed its credibility, and distracted the public from the excellent work being done every day. If you have witnessed such behavior, I encourage you to report it through appropriate channels,” he added.
Bove’s latest memo comes after a group of nine FBI agents filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block the public identification of any FBI employees who worked on the Jan. 6 investigations.
FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION
The plaintiffs, who filed the lawsuit anonymously in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said that any effort to review or discriminate against FBI employees involved in the Jan. 6 investigations would be “unlawful and retaliatory,” and a violation of civil service protections under federal law.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, a former Trump attorney, directed the FBI acting director to fire seven specific employees by Monday. (Angela Weiss – Pool/Getty Images)
The lawsuit cited the questionnaire employees were required to fill out detailing their specific role in the Jan. 6 investigation and Mar-a-Lago investigation led by former Special Counsel Jack Smith.
AFTER STINGING ELECTION DEFEATS, DNC EYES RURAL VOTERS AS KEY TO 2026 MIDTERM SUCCESS
Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll is blocking the release of information on the FBI’s investigations into Jan. 6, Bove said.(FBI)
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President Donald Trump declined to answer questions on Monday over whether his administration would remove FBI employees involved in the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, telling reporters only that he believes the bureau is “corrupt” and that his nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, will “straighten it out.”
Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
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Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove sent a memo to the acting FBI director Friday evening directing him to terminate eight FBI employees and identify all current and former bureau personnel assigned to Jan. 6 and Hamas cases for an internal review, Fox News has learned.
Bove’s memo to acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll, which was obtained by Fox News, asserts the Department of Justice cannot trust the FBI employees to carry out President Donald Trump’s agenda.
The subject of the memo is “Terminations.”
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FIRES MORE THAN A DOZEN KEY OFFICIALS ON FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S TEAM
“This memorandum sets forth a series of directives, authorized by the Acting Attorney General, regarding personnel matters to be addressed at the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Bove wrote.
Bove, a former Trump defense attorney, directed Driscoll to fire eight specific FBI employees by Monday, Feb. 3, at 5:30 p.m.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, a former Trump attorney, directed the FBI acting director to fire seven specific employees by Monday.(Angela Weiss/Pool/Getty Images)
“I do not believe that the current leadership of the Justice Department can trust these FBI employees to assist in implementing the President’s agenda faithfully,” Bove wrote in the memo.
Bove cited comments made by President Trump on his first day back in office, in which Trump accused the Biden administration’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies of going after Biden’s political adversaries.
“The American people have witnessed the previous administration engage in a systemic campaign against its perceived political opponents, weaponizing the legal force of numerous Federal law enforcement agencies and the Intelligence Community against those perceived political opponents in the form of investigations, prosecutions, civil enforcement actions, and other related actions,” Bove’s memo noted. “This includes the FBI.”
ANTI-TRUMP FBI AGENT RESPONSIBLE FOR OPENING JACK SMITH ELECTOR CASE AGAINST PRESIDENT: WHISTLEBLOWER
Bove said the FBI’s “prior leadership actively participated in what President Trump appropriately described as ‘a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years’ with respect to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“The weaponization of the FBI’s security clearance process is similarly troubling,” Bove continued. “So too are issues relating to the FBI’s reticence to address instructions and requests from, among other places, the Justice Department.”
The seal for the Justice Department in Washington Nov. 18, 2022.(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Bove said the problems “are symptomatic of deficiencies in previous leadership that must now be addressed.”
Bove wrote that he “deem[s] these terminations necessary, pursuant to President Trump’s January 20, 2025 Executive Order, entitled ‘Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government’ in order to continue the process of restoring a culture of integrity, credibility, accountability, and responsiveness to the leadership and directives of President Trump and the Justice Department.”
Beyond the terminations of the eight employees, Bove directed Driscoll to identify by noon Tuesday, Feb. 4, “all current and former FBI personnel assigned at any time to investigations and/or prosecutions” relating to “the events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021” and United States v. Haniyeh, a terrorism case against six Hamas leaders charged with planning and carrying out the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel.
The defendants in that case include Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, high-level Hamas leaders believed to have been assassinated in 2024 by Israeli operatives.
MAJOR FBI CHANGES KASH PATEL COULD MAKE ON DAY 1 IF CONFIRMED AS DIRECTOR
Bove ordered that the lists of employees Driscoll should compile “should include relevant supervisory personnel in FBI regional offices and field divisions, as well as at FBI headquarters.”
“For each employee included in the list, provide the current title, office to which the person is assigned, role in the investigation or prosecution, and date of last activity relating to the investigation or prosecution,” Bove directed. “Upon timely receipt of the requested information, the Office of the Deputy Attorney General will commence a review process to determine whether any additional personnel actions are necessary.”
Fox News also obtained the letter Driscoll sent to bureau employees Friday evening after receiving Bove’s memo. In it, Driscoll notified employees he was directed to fire the specific employees Bove identified “unless these employees have retired beforehand.”
“I have been personally in touch with each of these impacted employees,” Driscoll wrote.
The J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington, D.C. (Brooks Kraft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
As for the directive to compile a list of FBI employees involved in the Jan. 6 and Hamas cases, Driscoll said that request “encompasses thousands of employees across the country who have supported these investigative efforts.”
“I am one of those employees, as is acting Deputy Director Kissane,” Driscoll wrote. “As we’ve said since the moment we agreed to take on these roles, we are going to follow the law, follow FBI policy, and do what’s in the best interest of the workforce and the American people — always.
“We will be back in touch with more information as soon as we can. In the meantime, stay safe, and take care of each other.”
The FBI declined to comment on any personnel matters, including names, titles or numbers.
The DOJ directive comes after Acting Attorney General James McHenry earlier this week fired more than a dozen key officials who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s team prosecuting Trump. Fox News Digital exclusively reported the action Monday.
Special counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on an indictment, including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump at the Justice Department Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington, D.C.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
A DOJ official Monday used similar language to that seen in Bove’s letter, telling Fox News Digital McHenry “does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the president’s agenda.”
The directive also comes a day after Fox News Digital exclusively reported that whistleblower emails were shared with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, revealing that a former FBI agent, Timothy Thibault, allegedly broke protocol and played a critical role in opening and advancing the bureau’s original investigation related to the 2020 election, tying President Donald Trump to the probe without sufficient predication.
Bove’s memo also comes a day after President Trump’s nominee to lead the bureau, Kash Patel, testified during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Trump and allies have maintained the law enforcement agency was weaponized against him and conservatives across the nation.
The House Judiciary Committee, for months, investigated the FBI for the creation of a memo targeting Catholics and parents at school board meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Trump on Friday evening denied any involvement in the DOJ directive.
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“We have some very bad people over there,” Trump said Friday. “They came after a lot of people like me, but they came after a lot of people. No, I wasn’t involved in that.
“I’ll have to see what is exactly going on after this is finished,” he added. “But if they fired some people over there, that’s a good thing, because they were very bad. They were very corrupt people, very corrupt, and they hurt our country very badly with the weaponization. They used, they used the Justice Department to go after their political opponent, which in itself is illegal. And obviously it didn’t work.”
