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Welcome to logoff. Today I'm covering another purge at the Department of Justice. There, the Donald Trump administration is revenging against a high-ranking career prosecutor who indicted Trump's allies on January 6th.
What's the latest? Reuters reports that the Washington, D.C. secretary on Friday demoted seven high-ranking prosecutors and moved them to entry-level positions to force them to ban them. The demoted ones are as follows:
Experienced lawyers deal mostly with misdemeanors and low-level offences. The demotion follows the January fire of a US lawyer who indicted Trump for his attempt to steal the 2020 election.
Why were they demoted? Ed Martin, the new head of the Trump-appointed DC office, argued that the move focused on changing priorities and local crime in DC. But the Trump-related experience of selected staff – and the transition to entry-level work for experienced prosecutors, making it difficult to believe this is not an act of retaliation.
What is the overall picture? The demotion sends a strong signal to prosecutors that it will affect officials seeking to hold Trump and his allies accountable to the law. It's another blow to DOJ's independence as Trump works to remake law enforcement as a tool that can be used for political purposes. And the move undermines the US law firm in Washington. This is tasked with prosecuting abuse of power by some of the most powerful people in the country.
And so, it's time to log off…
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