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By Andrew Goudsward and Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s administration has reassigned about 20 top Justice Department attorneys, two sources familiar with the move told Reuters, as the new president moves quickly to shake the government’s hand that is you used to make him angry.
The group included at least four officials who have served in the Justice Department for 12 years or more, the two former sources and two additional sources said.
The four officials had kept their jobs as control of the White House shifted frequently between the Democratic and Republican parties, underscoring the unusual nature of the shakeup.
Several attorneys have been reassigned to the newly formed Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Task Force, as Trump tries to prevent state and city officials from opposing his plans to detain more immigrants. legally, sources said.
The sanctuary cities office was tasked with challenging local and state laws and policies that oppose Trump’s immigration agenda, according to a memo seen by Reuters.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
The department has brought two criminal cases against Trump during his four years out of office, one for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election victory and the other for maintaining specific documents after leaving office.
“The first administration and partners across the country engaged in an unprecedented, third-world exercise of prosecutorial power,” Trump’s executive order signed Monday reads, which requires a review of law enforcement and intelligence operations during the Biden administration for signs that they were properly installed. against political opponents.
The new assignments are in addition to this week’s removal of four senior officials from the Executive Office of Immigration Review, including its director Mary Cheng and Chief Immigration Judge Sheila McNulty, the sources said. two said.
The actions are contrary to standard department practice, Justice Department officials said.
“These are working people. They are not political. They are people who have been in this position many times, many years or even ten years. They have created real knowledge, and they are a great resource for the government,” said Randall Eliason. , a former federal prosecutor who now teaches law at George Washington University.
He called these measures “part of a broader attack on professionalism in government.”
One of the officials rescheduled is Corey Amundson, head of the Department of Public Integrity, who advised the lawyers leading the Trump impeachment, according to three sources.
Amundson declined to comment.
“Corey Amundson is as talented a prosecutor and leader of the Department as I know,” said a former senior Trump DOJ official. “It is a difficult task to manage Public Integrity, and it has done it admirably for more than six years in two Administrations with complete honesty. and regardless of politics.”
The second official to be reassigned is George Toscas, a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, who oversaw the robbery investigation, according to three sources. In court documents, Trump’s lawyers have named Toscas as a facilitator of the FBI’s search of Trump’s Florida properties for classified documents.
Toscas was not immediately available for comment.
The third is Eun Young Choi, who led the Department of Justice’s crackdown on cryptocurrency operations and was also on the prosecution team against Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, whom Trump impeached. forgive him on Tuesday.
Choi was not immediately available for comment.
The fourth is Bruce Swartz, a deputy assistant attorney general who worked on international law and treaty negotiations. He was not immediately available for comment.
Reuters has not been able to identify the other officials transferred, but sources say they are all career officers who have held some senior positions in the department.
