President Donald Trump's trend of seemingly targeting assistant U.S. attorneys reportedly violates civil service laws, according to a former federal prosecutor.
Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, took to X Saturday to bash the Trump administration's pattern of seemingly firing officials who disagree with the president.
"DOJ's termination of [assistant U.S. attorneys] is a disturbing trend. It violates civil service laws and encroaches on traditional independence of US Attorneys. Firing Trump's 'enemies' to instill fear is a danger to the rule of law," the law professor and legal analyst said.
DOJ’s termination of AUSAs is a disturbing trend. It violates civil service laws and encroaches on traditional independence of US Attorneys. Firing Trump’s “enemies” to instill fear is a danger to the rule of law. https://t.co/GzBmz9I6mr
— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) July 19, 2025
McQuade's statement came in response to a Friday New York Times article, which revealed that top-ranking Manhattan federal prosecutor Jay Clayton had not been notified prior to the firing of Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey.
No reason was given to Comey, Clayton or members of the media for the New York prosecutor's firing.
While the Department of Justice has led U.S. Attorneys' offices, the two typically work largely independently from each other, McQuade noted in her statement. However, that has not been the case during the Trump administration.
Multiple attorneys resigned in protest earlier this year after the administration pushed for corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams to be dropped. Danielle Sassoon, the interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, spoke out against this decision, accusing Adams and the DOJ of engaging in quid pro quo, which both have denied.
Several other lawyers have been fired by the Trump administration over the last several months, some of whom had been working on cases related to the Capitol riots or the case against Trump by former special counsel Jack Smith, as reported by the Associated Press.
Originally published on Latin Times
