Three former Justice Department (DOJ) employees hit the Trump administration on Thursday with a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination.
The effort was led by former federal prosecutor Michael Gordon, who worked on top cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The complaint was also signed by Patricia Hartman, a former public affairs specialist within the U.S. attorney’s office, and Joseph Tirrell, who previously led DOJ’s Departmental Ethics Office.
In the court filing, the former employees allege that their firings were “not in accordance with the law,” “contrary to a constitutional right, power, privilege, or immunity” and “in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, or short of statutory right.”
This comes amid a wave of approximately 200 terminations at the department amid President Trump’s efforts to shake-up the federal workforce and root out “waste, fraud and abuse.”
“Every time I think we’re at some point when the firings are over, there’s another wave,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said following the mass layoffs. “So, I would predict we’ll see more.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi also fired 20 staffers who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s team, including cases related to Trump’s retainment of classified documents after leaving the White House and his alleged the efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election to former President Biden.
The plaintiffs argue in the lawsuit that Bondi did not have the authority to remove DOJ employees without due process, pointing to guardrails that are in place to protect employees from “unlawful” termination.
They added later in the complaint that “employees should be protected against arbitrary action, personal favoritism, or coercion for partisan political purposes.”
Gordon, a former assistant U.S. attorney was fired by Bondi without an explanation on June 27.Â
“The law requires that the government cannot fire a federal prosecutor without first giving warning and then giving a justification, a reason — merit-based reason for firing,” the lawyer said in an interview with WFLA.Â
He was terminated the same day as two other assistant U.S. attorneys who also worked on Jan. 6 cases were fired. This indicated that the termination “was retaliation for prosecutions that were perceived as politically affiliated,” the lawsuit reads.
Hartman, who handled some communication related to the Jan. 6 cases, was fired on July 7 in the middle of her workday. Her memorandum of termination cited that she was let go due to Article II of the Constitution, without further explanation.Â
Tirell, a U.S. Navy veteran, was terminated on July 11, once again without prior warning, according to the lawsuit.Â
“The senseless terminations at the Justice Department are growing exponentially. The very institution created to enforce the law is trampling over the civil service laws enacted by Congress. It’s shameful, and it’s devastating the workforce,” said Stacey Young, executive director of Justice Connection, an DOJ alumni organization trying to protect their colleagues, in a statement to The Hill.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
