Trump Dismisses Ethics and Whistleblower Employees
In a series of events that have unfolded over the past few days, John Luman "Jack" Smith, the Special Counsel from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, has found himself at the centre of a legal battle after being dismissed by President Trump on Monday, February 11. However, a federal judge has ordered Smith to remain in his position at least through Thursday.
The dismissal came via an email sent to Smith on Friday evening, terminating his position as Special Counsel of the US Office of Special Counsel, effective immediately. Smith's attorneys argue that this unlawful attempt to remove him directly violates the protections put in place by Congress and renders the OSC and the Special Counsel unable to fulfill their statutory mandate.
Hampton Dellinger, who took over as Special Counsel, has been at the helm of several significant investigations. Under his leadership, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) alleged that Neera Tanden, a senior official in the Biden White House, broke the Hatch Act by fundraising for political candidates on social media. The OSC also determined that former Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro violated the Hatch Act for comments about the 2024 presidential election.
The dismissal of Smith has not been without opposition. On Monday, Hampton Dellinger filed a lawsuit to block his removal as leader of the Office of Special Counsel. The legal battle continues as Dellinger's attorneys argue that the president can only fire the special counsel due to "inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office," and that no such grounds have been presented.
The Office of Government Ethics (OGE), heavily involved with political appointments and helping nominees address conflicts of interest, has also been affected by the ongoing turmoil. The delay in initiating the official presidential transition process by Trump occasionally caused the OGE to be behind in completing reviews of nominees, which held up some of their confirmations.
As of 10:30 a.m., Feb. 11, President Donald Trump appointed Doug Collins as the acting head of the Office of Government Ethics and the Office of Special Counsel. However, the Office of Government Ethics announced the removal of its director, but the text does not specify who the new director is.
In a distributed statement, Hampton Dellinger stated that the attempt to remove him has no factual nor legal basis, making it illegal. This story has been updated with the latest developments.
David Huitema was confirmed for a five-year term as the director of the Office of Government Ethics at the end of President Joe Biden's administration. In late January, Trump removed Democratic members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions and the National Labor Relations Board, with those individuals arguing their firings were illegal, similar to the current situation with Hampton Dellinger.
Eric Katz contributed to this report. The story of the legal battle between President Trump and Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger continues to unfold.
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