‘It would be probably illegal’: A law professor highlights Trump’s shady plans for his second term

Law professor Ryan Goodman warns of Donald Trump’s potentially illegal plans to fire those who worked with special counsel Jack Smith during his second presidency.

Smith was appointed special counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice in 2022. As such, Smith was tasked with overseeing several criminal investigations into the former president. He probed Trump’s actions during the January 6 insurrection and his mishandling of classified documents. As a result of the investigation, Trump was indicted on several criminal charges related to his handling of classified documents and his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. It marked the first time in history that a former American president was indicted on federal criminal charges. However, Smith waded into more uncharted territory when Trump won re-election. Since it is policy for the Justice Department not to prosecute a sitting president, Smith recently moved to have the cases dismissed.

Even so, many still suspect one of Trump’s first moves as president will be to get revenge on Smith’s team.

Ryan Goodman warns of the consequences of Trump’s shady plans

While speaking to CNN‘s Erin Burnett, Goodman warned about the seriousness of Trump’s alleged plans to fire everyone who worked with Smith in pursuing federal charges against him. Recently, a source told The Washington Post that Trump promised to “clean out ‘the bad guys, the people who went after me’” from the Justice Department. It would align with his previous threats to get revenge on Smith, including vowing to fire Smith within “two seconds” of returning to the White House. Smith plans to resign before Trump takes office, but those who worked with him may be left to face the brunt of Trump’s vengeance.

Goodman called Trump’s potential plan “extraordinary on so many levels,” especially because those on Smith’s team are supposed to have legal protections. He explains, “To fire those people categorically who have protections… also means that it would be probably illegal firings.” It would put Trump and the Department of Justice on a very “destructive” path to “political retribution. Goodman warned, “A huge part of the Justice Department and Pam Bondi will be caught up in a huge amount of employment litigation over all of their claims, were they to go down that path. So it’s just very destructive. It smacks of political retribution.”

The fact that Trump is allegedly already promising terminations without investigating Smith’s team means that they’ll have strong legal claims to fight against the likely illegal termination. Even so, the fact that Trump is willing to throw the Department of Justice into chaos and face mounds of employee litigation all in the name of revenge is concerning. Many individuals in the Justice Department were simply performing their duties and required to work with Smith, making it very wrong that Trump wants to fire them for this. Also, just like Trump’s promise to pardon the January 6 rioters still in prison, it is indicative of the kind of lawlessness that he wants to establish — where right-wing extremists are pardoned and protected civil servants are fired for pursuing justice.