Judge blocks Trump from firing head of US agency that investigates corruption
Summary
A federal judge blocked Donald Trump’s attempt to fire Hampton Dellinger as head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), citing a 1978 law that allows removal only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.”
Judge Amy Berman Jackson reinstated Dellinger pending a February 26 hearing.
Dellinger called his firing illegal, saying, “The effort to remove me has no factual nor legal basis – none.”
The White House argues the law is unconstitutional, challenging limits on presidential power over independent agencies.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/13/trump-special-counsel-firingsOpen linkView original on lemmy.world442
Comments32
He's gonna try to get the judge fired next.
The domino effect, in the end America is left with no judges because they all got fired for supporting each other
Almost. The Trump appointees will remain.
Multiple judges who have blocked Trump actions are Trump appointees.
Those judges aren't on the Supreme Court (where this will eventually end up). Its the same as a Republican doing a performative protest vote against GOP legislation that goes through anyway. They get to save some face, but at the end of the day no harm no foul.
After the Supreme Court sides with Trump, shit will get real nasty.
I really hope blue states are making contingency plans.
It seems like no one in the US is taking this serioseriously... Canada is literally making war preparations.
Canada is not making war preparations.
I'm cautiously optimistic they they won't... Not because I have delusions about them growing some integrity suddenly, but because it means giving up all of their power. Their job would literally be to legally justify Trump's actions post hock if they give up their authority
They've spent years stacking the courts to legislate from the bench, they've pushed their own power to the limits. They're (mostly) not doing it for Trump, they're doing it for power and their backers. Plus there's still some neo liberals on the court who will put the process above all else
There's still the question of what happens if the executive branch just continues to ignore them, but i imagine their common backers want some kind of rudder on the Trump/Elon missile
People like judge Jackson are what the US need right now.
Seems like a lot of good judges have been stepping up, his EOs have been getting blocked left and right, save for a couple judges who's officially lost it and handed him a couple wins lol
Okay Dellinger, you better fucking do something about all this corruption then.
What exactly would you have him do?
I dunno but one would hope he'd take advantage of this decision as effectively as he can, given that his office fights corruption and is threatened by said corruption. It'd be nice for something to matter.
Maybe don't insist someone "better fucking do something" if you have no idea what they can do.
The answer is that they can do nothing when the people in charge do not care about the law. But at least keeping this person in office pisses them off.
It's not my job to know what the powers he has are. That's why I'm not in his position. It's well within my rights to demand my government do it's damn job. If him keeping his job means nothing, why do we care in the first place?
No one says you have to care or you're not within your rights to demand anything. However, and this may come as a shock, the world does not revolve around you.
And, believe it or not, I am within my rights to point out that you're demanding someone do something when you don't even know what they do and that's silly.
(I always love it when people get indignant at a person using their right to say critical things as if it somehow prevents them from saying what the person is criticizing.)
Edit: I guess the downvoters don't believe people have the right to criticize others. Not that I'm surprised considering the sense of entitlement I've seen around here lately.
I downvoted because you didn't add anything to the conversation. Do you know what Dellinger can do now that he's been reinstated? If so, tell us. If not, find out and tell us. If you don't want to find out, that's ok too, but in that case you don't have to say anything. The route you chose did nothing to further the conversation, it just ended in you browbeating a fellow citizen for making a desparate plea in a desperate time.
I'm not the one who demands he has to do something but is unable to articulate what he is supposed to do. If someone makes an unclear demand, I don't think asking for clarification is beyond the pale. But I guess you do.
Classic squid haha
Execute Trump, Musk, Vance, and every other politician aligned with them for treason.
And how would he achieve that?
Big bullet
Just one? Are we talking Bullet Bill here?
Just like how Indiana Jones shot three Nazis with one bullet? They just have to stand in line
That's the kind of efficiency we need
Inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, sounds like someone else we all know.
These people clearly don't understand what "independent" means.