Bondi fires top Department of Justice ethics official

Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) top ethics official July 11, a longtime advisor who oversaw conflict-of-interest guidance for federal officials.

Joseph Tirrell, who had served as the DOJ’s senior ethics attorney since July 2023, posted his termination letter to LinkedIn July 14. The letter cited “Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States” as justification for the dismissal. It also included a typo, misspelling Tirrell’s first name as “JOSPEH.” 

In the post, Tirrell said he had advised Bondi and the Deputy Attorney General “directly on federal employee ethics.” 

“I was also responsible for the day-to-day operations of the ethics program across the Department,” he added. “I led a small, dedicated team of professionals and coordinated the work of some 30 other full-time ethics officials… ensuring that the 117,000 Department employees were properly advised” on federal ethics rules.

Tirrell also advised Special Counsel Jack Smith — appointed under the Biden administration — on ethics matters during Smith’s prosecutions of President Donald Trump. 

Bloomberg Law reported that Tirrell approved Smith’s receipt of roughly $140,000 in pro bono legal services from the law firm Covington & Burling as part of the investigation into Trump. The arrangement, the outlet said, was disclosed only after the probe concluded. 

According to Axios, Bondi’s office also fired 20 other employees July 11, many of whom were “involved in various investigations” into Trump.

Axios reported that the firings came as part of an internal investigation by the “Weaponization Working Group.” CatholicVote previously reported that Bondi launched the task force in February to investigate “instances of ‘politicized justice’” within federal law enforcement agencies.

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