Written by Andrew Godward and Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump's administration has reassigned about 20 top Justice Department lawyers, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as the new president moves quickly to change the arm of the government that has long angered him.
The first two sources and two additional sources said the group included at least four officials who had each served in the Justice Department for 12 years or more.
The four officials retained their roles as control of the White House repeatedly shifted between the Democratic and Republican parties, highlighting the unusual nature of this change.
Several lawyers have been reassigned to a newly created sanctuary cities enforcement working group, sources said, as Trump moves to try to prevent state and city government officials from resisting his plans to crack down on illegal immigration.
The Office of Sanctuary Cities is tasked with challenging local and state laws and policies that conflict with Trump's immigration agenda, according to a memo seen by Reuters.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice declined to comment.
The department filed two criminal cases against Trump during the four years he spent out of power, one over his attempt to overturn his defeat in the 2020 elections and the other over keeping secret documents after leaving office.
“The previous administration and allies across the country engaged in an unprecedented weaponization of Third World prosecutorial power,” said the executive order signed by Trump on Monday, which requires a review of law enforcement and intelligence activities during the Biden administration for indications that they have been deployed in a dangerous way. incorrect. Against political opponents.
The reappointments come in addition to the dismissals this week of four senior career officials who worked at the Executive Office for Immigration Review, including its director, Mary Cheng, and Chief Immigration Judge Sheila McNulty, two sources said.
Former Justice Ministry officials said that these moves contradict the department's usual practices.
“These are professional people. They're not politicians. They're people who have been in these positions often for many years or even a decade. They've gained real experience, and that's a great resource for the government,” Randall Eliason said. , a former federal prosecutor who now teaches law at George Washington University.
He described these moves as “part of a broader attack on expertise in government.”
One of the reassigned career officials is Corey Amundson, head of the Public Integrity Division, who has advised the lawyers leading Trump's prosecutions, according to three of the sources.
Amundson declined to comment.
“Cory Amundson is as gifted a federal prosecutor and department head as I know,” said a former senior Trump administration Justice Department official. “It is a difficult job managing public integrity, and he has done it admirably for more than six years across two administrations with absolute integrity.” And without regard to politics.”
The second official reassigned was George Toskas, a senior official in the National Security Division, who oversaw counterintelligence investigations, according to three sources. In court documents, Trump's lawyers stated that Toskas is a supporter of the FBI searching Trump's Florida properties for classified documents.
Toskas could not immediately be reached for comment.
The third is Eun Young Choi, who led the Justice Department's cryptocurrency enforcement initiative and was also on the team that prosecuted Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was pardoned by Trump on Tuesday.
Choi could not immediately be reached for comment.
The fourth is Bruce Swartz, a deputy assistant attorney general who has worked in international law and treaty negotiations. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
Reuters was unable to identify the other transferred officials, but the sources said they were all career officials who held fairly senior positions in the ministry.
