Pam Bondi fires key ethics attorney amid controversy
- Joseph Tirrell was responsible for advising the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General on federal employee ethics.
- His termination aligns with a broader trend of dismissals of DOJ employees associated with former special counsel Jack Smith's investigations.
- The recent firings have raised concerns regarding the impact of political influences on the Justice Department's ethical oversight.
In the United States, Attorney General Pam Bondi took a decisive step by firing Joseph Tirrell, a senior ethics attorney at the Department of Justice, on July 13, 2025. Tirrell was responsible for advising senior DOJ officials, including Bondi herself, on ethics compliance and the management of the department's ethics program. His dismissal follows a pattern of firings that have occurred within the DOJ, targeting employees who had affiliations with former special counsel Jack Smith's team. This group is particularly noteworthy as it includes individuals involved in high-profile investigations, including those concerning the prosecutions of former President Donald Trump. Tirrell made a public announcement about his termination via a post on LinkedIn, where he shared a photo of his termination notice but did not include specific reasons for the firing. His role was critical; he had signed off on determining the legality of certain gifts received by Jack Smith, demonstrating significant responsibility in maintaining ethical standards within the DOJ. Several former officials have suggested that the current wave of firings is linked to ongoing political turmoil around the investigations involving Trump, who has labeled these investigations as a political