DOJ fires prosecutors; FBI leadership ousted

Summary

Beginning January 27, 2025, the Trump administration fired more than a dozen career DOJ prosecutors who worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigations of Trump, and ordered the termination of eight senior FBI executives, including those who headed the national security, cyber, and criminal divisions.

What happened

A January 31, 2025 directive written by Acting Attorney General James McHenry ordered the firing of prosecutors assigned to Jan. 6 cases, stating their employment "hindered the ability" to "faithfully implement the agenda" of the president. A separate memo from Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordered eight current FBI executives terminated by February 3, 2025, including senior officials at the executive assistant director level overseeing national security, cyber, and criminal investigations, plus field office heads. The FBI also compiled lists of thousands of agents who worked on Jan. 6 or Trump-related investigations for potential further action.

Impact on the United States

Hollowed out career prosecutorial and investigative capacity in politically sensitive areas; deterred future investigations by signaling that career officials can be fired for applying law in politically inconvenient directions. Reps. Jamie Raskin and Gerald Connolly, the top Democrats on the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, wrote that the firings "very likely violated longstanding federal laws."

Documented effects

1. Feb 2025Eight senior FBI executives ordered terminated by February 3, 2025, including the executive assistant directors over the criminal, national security, and cyber divisions[1]
2. Over a dozen career prosecutors from Jack Smith's special counsel team fired by late January 2025; DOJ demanded list of potentially thousands of FBI agents for review by February 4, 2025[1]
3. PBS News reported FBI and DOJ were struggling to "rebuild after wave of resignations and firings"[2]
4. Apr 2026In April 2026 career prosecutor Maria Medetis Long was abruptly removed from the 'grand conspiracy' and John Brennan investigations in the Miami U.S. attorney's office after expressing concerns about the strength of the evidence, and was replaced by Joe diGenova, who resigned in September 2026 without anyone being charged.[4][5]

Why this is rated significant

Firing career prosecutors and FBI executives degrades DOJ independence, a significant institutional harm focused on specific personnel and functions.

Corrections & updates [6]

Every change to a fact on this page after publication is logged here, newest first.

1. Sep 29, 2026UpdatedEffects

   Updated: in April 2026 career prosecutor Maria Medetis Long was removed from the Justice Department's "grand conspiracy" and Brennan investigations after she expressed concerns about the strength of the evidence, and Joe diGenova was brought in to supervise them. DiGenova resigned in September 2026 without anyone being charged.[4][5]

2. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedAttribution

   Per CBS News, the January 31, 2025 directive to fire Jan. 6 prosecutors was written by Acting Attorney General James McHenry, not Emil Bove; Bove's separate memo ordered eight current FBI executives terminated by February 3. Those eight were senior executives including executive assistant directors, not eight executive assistant directors, and there is no FBI 'Jan. 6 division'.[1]

3. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedQuote

   The quote attributed to former DOJ officials ('intimidate other officials to submit to [the president] personally...') does not appear in any cited source and was removed. It is replaced with a sourced statement from Reps. Jamie Raskin and Gerald Connolly reported by NPR.[3]

4. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedSummary

   The display text said top House Democrats called the firings very likely illegal; the entry has no source for that statement, so it is removed. The subheading called the firings 'politically motivated' as fact; it now describes them and quotes the Justice Department's stated reason.[1][3]

5. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedDisplay copy

   The display text said thousands of FBI agents were 'flagged', and applied the 'hindered' quote to FBI leaders. The record says DOJ demanded a list of potentially thousands of agents for review, and the quote concerned prosecutors; the text now matches.[1]

6. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedCost estimate

   The $11.1M booked figure consisted of settlements with Michael Flynn, Carter Page and Mark Houck, which concern past investigations of Trump allies, not the firing of DOJ and FBI staff, plus about $8M in settlements with no source. The wrongful-termination suits by the fired officials are unresolved, so nothing is booked yet. An unsourced settlement projection is also removed.

   Previously

   net $11.1M so far; 10yr $45M; 15yr $55M

   Now

   net $0; 10yr $0; 15yr $0

Sources [5]