In an emergency appeal, Justice Department lawyers have asked the high court to lift a federal judge’s order temporarily blocking special counsel Hampton Dellinger from being
fired. The case is Dellinger V. Bessent.
“Until now, as far as we are aware, no court in American history has wielded an injunction to force the president to retain an agency head,” wrote acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris.
An appeals court had earlier declined on procedural grounds to lift the order first imposed by DC US District Senior Judge Amy Berman Jackson, which will expire Feb. 26.
The Justice Department's filing obtained by The Associated Press asks the conservative-majority court to lift a judge's court order temporarily reinstating Hampton Dellinger as the leader of the Office of Special Counsel.
Dellinger has argued that the law says he can only be dismissed for problems with the performance of his job, none of which were cited in the email dismissing him.
Dellinger in his suit pointed to layoffs of federal workers to claim that his work was “needed now more than ever.”
The special counsel, whose term expires in 2029, had filed a lawsuit against Trump and other administration officials for being dismissed “without proper cause” and via a Feb. 7 email from the White House.
“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as Special Counsel of the US Office of Special Counsel is terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” wrote Sergio Gor, director of the White House presidential personnel office.
Biden nominated Dellinger — who worked as a partner at the same law firm as the ex-president’s troubled son Hunter — to lead the federal watchdog office in late 2023 after having served in the DOJ.
In February 2024, Democrats confirmed Dellinger to lead the special counsel’s office in a party-line vote.
The Supreme Court will be able to respond to the filing as early as Tuesday after returning from the Presidents’ Day holiday.
The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is an allegedly “independent agency” tasked with investigating and prosecuting workplace misconduct in the executive branch and is not to be confused with special counsel Jack Smith’s office or other independent prosecutorial offices.
The brief references some of the dozen or more cases where judges have slowed Trump's agenda, including by ordering the temporary lifting of a foreign aid funding freeze and blocking workers with Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency team from accessing Treasury Department data for now.
The executive branch has argued since the Carter administration that the Office of Special Counsel is the kind of job where the president should have the power to hire and fire, and letting the order in Dellinger's case stand could "embolden" judges to issue additional blocks in the roughly 70 lawsuits the Trump administration is facing so far, the Justice Department argues.
2024 Election
MAGA Agenda
Pam Bondi
Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger
Dellinger V. Bessent
Judge Amy Berman Jackson
Office of Special Counsel
Proper Cause
Sergio Gor
Hunter Biden
Workplace Misconduct
Comments