Particle.news
Download on the App Store
9 ARTICLES
·
6d ago

Former DOJ Prosecutors Sue Over Bondi-Signed Article II Firings

The suit contends that memos invoking Article II violated civil service protections, leaving no avenue for appeal at a gutted Merit Systems Protection Board.

FILE - Rioters storm the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Former federal prosecutor Michael Gordon poses for a photo outside the Sam Gibbons United States Courthouse, Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Former federal prosecutor Michael Gordon poses for a photo outside the Sam Gibbons United States Courthouse, Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Overview

  • Michael Gordon, Patricia Hartman and Joseph Tirrell filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit in D.C. federal court against the DOJ, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Executive Office of the President.
  • They allege they were dismissed via one-page memos in late June that cited presidential Article II authority without prior notice or specific cause.
  • Gordon prosecuted over three dozen January 6 defendants, including Richard “Bigo” Barnett and Eric Munchel, and says his firing was political retaliation for those cases.
  • The plaintiffs are seeking court orders for immediate reinstatement and back pay, arguing that the Merit Systems Protection Board lacks the quorum to adjudicate their appeals.
  • Their lawsuit underscores a broader purge of more than 200 career DOJ employees since President Trump’s return, prompting bipartisan alarm over the department’s independence.