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Trump fires team of Lawyers who prosecuted him
United States President, Donald Trump, on Monday, fired more than a dozen Justice Department lawyers who brought two criminal cases against him.
The officials were sacked after the Acting Attorney General, James McHenry, a Trump appointee, concluded that they could not be trusted to faithfully implement the President’s agenda because of their significant role in prosecuting the President.
According to the termination letter, McHenry cited Trump’s power as chief executive under the U.S. Constitution to justify the firings.
It was gathered that the lawyers worked with Special Counsel, Jack Smith, who led the two federal prosecutions of Trump that the department dropped after his November election.
Smith, however, resigned from the department earlier this month.
The sacking came the same day that Ed Martin, the top federal prosecutor in Washington and a Trump appointee, opened an internal review into the use of a felony obstruction charge in prosecutions of people accused of taking part in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The U.S. Supreme Court raised the legal bar for that offense in a 6-3 ruling last year, prompting prosecutors to drop the charge in several cases.
The moves reflect a willingness by the Trump administration to follow through on threats to seek retribution against prosecutors who pursued Trump and his supporters during his four years out of office.
Trump and his allies view the Justice Department with deep suspicion after prosecutors accused the president of national security- and election-related crimes.
The move came after the Trump administration already eassigned up to 20 senior career Justice Department officials, including Bradley Weinsheimer, the top ethics official, and the former chief of the public corruption section, Corey Amundson, from their roles.
Amundson, whose section provided advice to Smith’s prosecutors, announced his resignation on Monday.
The moves to shake up the Justice Department’s workforce have happened before the U.S. Senate votes on Trump’s attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi.
Bondi’s nomination is set to be voted on by a Senate panel on Wednesday.
Smith, who was appointed by former Attorney General, Merrick Garland, brought cases accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents at his Florida social club and attempting to interfere with the certification of the 2020 election.
However, Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges, arguing that the cases reflected a weaponization of the legal system.
Smith dropped both cases after Trump’s election, citing a longtime-policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Activist Omoyele Sowore, has pleaded not guilty to the cybercrime charges against him at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had filed the charges against Sowore for calling him an “illegal IGP.”
Sowore had made the remark on his verified X handle.
However, the activist is standing trial before Justice Liman of the FCT High Court and was docked at about 10:00 am when the charges were read to him.
When the charges were read, Sowore pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Meanwhile, several of his followers had protested in front of the court over Sowore’s arraignment.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Five persons have been reportedly killed during an invasion by gunmen at Ajegunle-Powerline community in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State.
An eyewitness, Mr Akin Olowolafe, a farmer in the community, told newsmen on Thursday in Akure that five people were allegedly killed during the attack, which happened on Tuesday at about 3pm.
Olowolafe said the gunmen entered the farmlands while people were working and started shooting sporadically in the air, which resulted in the death of five farmers.
According to him, the gunmen usually attack the farmlands on a daily basis around the community, and it has made life unbearable for farmers.
Many farmers in the community have fled their farms for fear of being killed. The attacks are unchecked while their is no intervention from the appropriate authorities.
“The incessant clashes and destruction of farm crops are so worrisome and it has led to boycotting of farms by farmers in the area,” Olowolafe said.
Also, a labourer, Mr Fidelis Daniel, who corroborated the story, said that the corpses had been deposited at the mortuary.
“I was inside the farm too when the incident happened, I just heard the sound of guns, and I immediately ran to my house.
It was even God that saved me too, they would have killed me.
They suddenly came with weapons to destroy our crops and killed five people. Three people from Plateau and two from Kaduna State,” he said.
The Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, who confirmed the incident to newsmen, however, denied the number of casualties.
“There was an attack on the community, and police is still investigating, but I cannot confirm the number of people
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