Judge rules Trump broke the law in firing key government watchdog
A federal court judge ruled on Saturday night that President Trump fired illegally Hampton Dillinger as special counsel, who was a key watchdog of federal employees. He also ordered Mr. Trump’s team to not interfere in any way with him.
The order of U.S. district judge Amy Berman Jackson, which is so broad in scope, is a major blow for Mr. Trump. Mr. Dellinger has not only fought his dismissal, but is also fighting the president’s attempts to fire other federal employees who are on “probation”.
Judge Jackson appeared to be trying to stop any mischief by issuing a directive to the administration to not “obstruct his performance of duties”, and to not try to appoint a special counsel acting to delegitimize Dellinger.
She called the firing of Mr. Dellinger via email on February 7 “an illegal, ultra-violet act.”
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“Therefore it is null, and the plaintiff is, and will be, the special counsel of Office of Special Counsel until the end of his five-year tenure, unless and till he is dismissed in accordance with the 5 U.S.C. She said that SS1211 (b) was the law.
This section of the law states that Mr. Dellinger is an Obama appointee and can only be fired for cause.
The Justice Department filed an appeal notice immediately.
The team of Mr. Trump argues that Judge Jackson’s ruling has placed an unconstitutional limitation on the power of the president to supervise the executive branch. They claim that Mr. Dellinger is exercising core executive powers which should be under the control of the president.
They claimed that Mr. Dellinger was working to thwart the president’s decision by opposing the dismissal of probationary employees.
Judge Jackson concluded Mr. Dellinger’s job was unique, because he answered not only to President Obama but also Congress and to the public. She wrote that he is a watchdog for the executive.
If the President were to fire Dellinger, he would have “a constitutional right to intimidate officials of the executive branch to do his will.”
Special counsels are responsible for investigating cases of improper personnel actions, representing government whistleblowers and policing Hatch Act violations.
Dellinger challenged the firings six probationary federal employees as part the Trump administration’s remake the federal bureaucracy. The Merit Systems Protection Board granted a 45-day suspension to the special counsel.
Judge Jackson, a nominee of Obama, issued a restraining in order to keep Mr. Dellinger on his job while the case is being heard. Her new ruling is a permanent injunction.
It is likely that the case will be heard by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, and the Supreme Court shortly thereafter.
The team of Mr. Trump had asked the justices for a block on Judge Jackson’s restraining orders, but the high courts held the case to allow Judge Jackson to rule on the injunction informally.
Washington is divided over the situation of Mr. Dellinger.
A group of Democratic members of Congress, led by Rep. Ayana pressley of Massachusetts, wrote a letter on Friday, urging the Special Counsel to be firm.
The lawmakers said: “We urge you continue to fulfill OSC’s mandate and ensure that federal workers are protected against abuse.”
Also, they urged Mr. Dellinger not to limit his efforts to the six probationary workers he highlighted.
The Trump administration fired thousands of probationary workers.
A federal judge issued an order late last week telling the Office of Personnel Management not to issue calls to agencies for them to fire probationary staff.
According to a report published by the Democratic Congress last week, Mr. Trump’s administration has fired at least 38,000 federal employees.
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