By Steve Neavling
The Justice Department’s top ethics official was fired Friday by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, marking the latest in a string of dismissals targeting longtime civil servants amid growing concerns of political retribution.
Joseph Tirrell, who led the department’s ethics office since 2023, announced his firing in a LinkedIn post and shared a copy of Bondi’s termination letter, which notably misspelled his name and offered no explanation for the decision, the Guardian reports.
Tirrell declined to comment, and the Justice Department did not respond to a request for clarification.
“My public service is not over, and my career as a Federal civil servant is not finished,” Tirrell wrote. “I took the oath at 18 as a Midshipman to ‘support and defend the constitution of the United States’… That oath did not come with the caveat that I need only support the constitution when it is easy or convenient.”
As head of the ethics office, Tirrell was responsible for vetting financial disclosures and reviewing ethical concerns involving Bondi and other senior officials. He oversaw a staff of about 30 people tasked with ensuring department employees complied with federal ethics rules, according to Bloomberg Law.
His firing comes as Bondi continues to remove employees tied to special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of former President Donald Trump. Career prosecutors and support staff have also been forced out, fueling accusations that the Justice Department is being politicized under Bondi’s leadership.
It’s unclear whether Tirrell’s termination was directly related to Smith’s work. Earlier this year, Tirrell authorized $140,000 in legal services for Smith prior to his resignation, according to Politico. Meanwhile, Ed Martin, a right-wing activist and staunch defender of the January 6 Capitol rioters, was recently tapped to lead a department task force investigating so-called “weaponization” by federal agencies that once scrutinized Trump.
