By Andrew Goudsward and Mike Spector
WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Four senior civil rights lawyers at the U.S. Justice Department resigned in recent days, departures that were prompted in part by a decision to sideline their unit from investigating the fatal shooting of a Minnesota woman by a U.S. immigration officer, according to two sources familiar with the departures.
The lawyers were all supervisors in the criminal section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which typically plays a leading role in federal investigations into use of force by police officers. The head of the division, Harmeet Dhillon, an appointee of President Donald Trump, informed the unit last week they would not be involved in the probe, one of the sources said. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive internal matter.
The Minnesota probe was not the only factor in their decision. The four lawyers were also offered early retirement by the Trump administration and had become disillusioned with the direction of the division, whose priorities had been reshaped to align with Trump, according to the sources.
A Justice Department official confirmed the departures, emphasizing that the lawyers gave notice to leave the civil rights division and requested to participate in an early retirement program well before the Minnesota shooting.
The resignations are the latest sign of tumult in the Justice Department under Trump, which has fired and expelled dozens of career officials and pursued investigations of Trump’s perceived political enemies.
The departures were first reported by MS NOW.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
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