Attorney General Pam Bondi has fired the senior ethics official who advises top Department of Justice (DOJ) officials of their ethical obligations.
The firing of Joseph Tirrell comes amid a purge of federal workers at the department, a source in the DOJ told ABC News.
Tirrell posted about his dismissal on LinkedIn.
The post included a photo of his termination notice, which apparently didn’t include a reason for the firing.
In the post, Tirrell said:
“Until Friday evening, I was the senior ethics attorney at the Department of Justice responsible for advising the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General directly on federal employee ethics.
“I was also responsible for the day-to-day operations of the ethics program across the Department.”
His firing appears to be part of the DOJ purge of personnel who participated in former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s “investigation” into and case against President Donald Trump.
Around 35 DOJ employees have been fired so far.
15 more are also likely on the chopping block.
While no official word about why Tirell was fired has been given, a theory has been espoused by several former officials.
Tirell was director of the DOJ’s Ethics Office when Smith disclosed that he had been gifted $140,000 in pro bono legal services while he was special counsel.
The ethics official apparently signed off on the gift, claiming it followed the agency’s regulations and requirements.
This ethical lapse could have led to his firing.
The purge is itself a development that has arisen out of the “Weaponization Working Group” formed by Bondi when she first took office as U.S. attorney general.
The DOJ leadership under Trump is concerned that its personnel could work against Trump the way various personnel did during his first administration.
It’s a valid concern because it happened both while he was in office and after.
The DOJ reportedly has tried to distinguish between personnel who were only obeying orders from their superiors and those who seemed to harbor ill will toward Trump and acted against him on their own initiative.
Trump vowed while campaigning to get rid of what he called the deep state.
The deep state is made up of longtime officials who have more sympathies for Democrat administrations than Republican ones.
At least within the DOJ, Trump’s pledge is being taken very seriously.
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