US Justice Department fires over dozen officials investigating Trump

The Justice Department has said that it had fired more than a dozen employees who worked on criminal prosecutions of President Donald Trump, moving rapidly to pursue retribution against lawyers involved in the investigations.

The firings on Monday are effective immediately.

"Today, Acting Attorney General James McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DOJ officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump," said a statement from a Justice Department official.

"In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President's agenda. This action is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponisation of government."

It was not immediately clear which prosecutors were affected by the order or how many who worked on the investigations into Trump remained with the department.

It was also not immediately known how many of the fired prosecutors intended to challenge the terminations by arguing that the department had ignored civil service protections afforded to federal employees.

Justice Department upheaval

The abrupt action targeting career prosecutors who worked on special counsel Jack Smith's team is the latest sign of upheaval inside the Justice Department and reflects the administration's determination to purge the government of workers it perceives as disloyal to the president.

Smith himself resigned from the department earlier this month after submitting a two-volume report on the twin investigations into Trump's efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election and his hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Trump had vowed before the election to fire Smith "on day one" and accused the Justice Department under former Democratic president Joe Biden of conducting a "political witch hunt" against him.

At least one other key member of the team, Jay Bratt, also retired from the department this month after serving as a lead prosecutor in the classified documents case.

Trump faces charges in Georgia over his efforts to subvert the election results in the southern state, but the case will likely be frozen while he is in office.

Trump was convicted in New York in May of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to an adult actress.