The Justice Department fired a top national security prosecutor amid criticism from a right-wing commentator over his work during the Biden administration, further roiling the prominent U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia after the ousting of other senior attorneys in recent weeks. The firings are the latest in a wave of terminations that have thrown the department into turmoil and raised alarm over political influence over the traditionally independent law enforcement agency and the erosion of civil service protections afforded to federal employees. While U.S. attorneys generally change with a new president, rank-and-file prosecutors by tradition remain with the department across administrations.
