• Pam Bondi fired Joseph Tirrell, the senior ethics attorney at the DOJ.
• Tirrell confirmed his firing via a LinkedIn post, citing no specific reason.
• The dismissal is part of a broader removal of DOJ officials associated with investigations into Donald Trump.
• Tirrell led a team focused on maintaining ethics standards for 117,000 DOJ employees.
• At least 20 other DOJ employees were also reported to be removed in recent weeks.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has dismissed the Department of Justice's senior ethics attorney, Joseph Tirrell, amid a series of personnel changes within the DOJ. Tirrell publicly announced his firing on LinkedIn, sharing a termination letter from Bondi that did not provide a reason for his immediate removal, although it did indicate he could appeal the decision. He had been responsible for advising both Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche regarding employee ethics, overseeing day-to-day operations of the ethics program across the department, according to ABC News and HuffPost.

Tirrell's termination follows a pattern of dismissals aimed at officials who participated in investigations led by former special counsel Jack Smith. Reports indicate that as many as 37 DOJ employees were recently targeted, including 20 who had ties to investigations involving former President Donald Trump. Such significant removals are seen as part of Bondi's initiative to restructure the DOJ, especially those associated with the reviews of Trump's document handling and the January 6 Capitol riot, according to Newsweek and CBS News.

In his LinkedIn post, Tirrell highlighted his extensive career in public service, which began as a U.S. Navy officer before transitioning to the FBI and eventually becoming the director of the DOJ's Ethics Office in 2023. He emphasized the importance of ethical governance and criticized actions that undermine institutional integrity, stating, "My public service is not over, and my career as a federal civil servant is not finished," as reported by HuffPost and CBS News.

The recent firings at the DOJ have raised concerns regarding the diminishing capability of the department to self-regulate and act independently, particularly with the removal of its internal watchdogs. Previous employees who worked on the Smith investigations were also dismissed, reflecting a policy to eliminate those who might conflict with the current administration's goals, as noted by ABC News and Newsweek.

Overall, the ongoing changes within the DOJ, led by Pam Bondi, are being scrutinized as potentially politically motivated, particularly in light of her recent handling of sensitive cases involving Donald Trump, indicating a significant shift in the Department's operational practices under the current administration, according to HuffPost and CBS News.