Pam Bondi fires US justice department’s top ethics adviser

The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, fired the justice department’s top ethics adviser on Friday, the latest in a series of dismissals that comes as Donald Trump and allies have sought retribution against civil servants in the agency.

Joseph Tirrell, who had served as the head of the justice department’s ethics office, since 2023, revealed he had been fired in a post on LinkedIn. He shared Bondi’s letter to him, which misspelled his name and did not give a reason for his termination.

Neither Tirrell nor the justice department returned a request for comment.

“My public service is not over, and my career as a Federal civil servant is not finished,” Tirrell wrote in the post. “I took the oath at 18 as a Midshipman to ‘support and defend the constitution of the United States’. I have taken that oath at least five more times since then. That oath did not come with the caveat that I need only support the constitution when it is easy or convenient.”

Tirrell was responsible for reviewing financial disclosures and other matters related to Bondi and other top officials in the justice department, according to Bloomberg Law. He oversaw a team of about 30 people that ensured the department’s ethical guidelines were being followed.

Tirrell’s firing comes as Bondi has begun firing career employees connected to Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump. Those firings have included career prosecutors as well as support staff. The firings also come as Ed Martin, a prominent defender of January 6 rioters, was chosen to lead a working group in the department investigating so-called weaponization of officials who investigated Trump.

It’s unclear if Tirrell’s dismissal is related to January 6-related terminations. Earlier this year, Tirrell signed off on $140,000 worth of free legal services given to Smith before he resigned, according to Politico.