Federal prosecutor who was fired over years-old weblog posts important of Trump sues Justice Division
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Will Rosenzweig was two weeks away from making an attempt a multimillion-dollar Medicare fraud case.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal prosecutor fired final yr over important feedback he had written as a non-public citizen about President Donald Trump sued the Justice Division on Friday, saying his termination violated his First Modification rights.
Will Rosenzweig was two weeks away from making an attempt a multimillion-dollar Medicare fraud case when a weblog he had written years earlier masking a broad vary of matters was publicized on-line by a conservative political commentator who additionally included a screenshot of Rosenzweig’s LinkedIn account and tagged senior Justice Division officers for his or her consciousness.
Lower than three hours after the put up, the lawsuit says, Rosenzweig obtained an electronic mail signed by then-Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi informing him that he had been fired. The information got here as Rosenzweig was out of city together with his household observing the Jewish vacation of Rosh Hashana.
The September 2025 termination was a part of a sweeping personnel purge during the last yr and a half contained in the Justice Division, which has fired prosecutors who labored on investigations into Trump and others seen as being towards the administration’s efforts.
A lawsuit filed in federal courtroom in Miami, the place Rosenzweig labored as a federal prosecutor for 5 years, seeks reinstatement to the job in addition to backpay and a courtroom order declaring his firing illegal. The criticism says Rosenzweig was a extremely revered prosecutor who obtained “constant reward and awards” and was so extremely valued in his workplace that he was informed simply weeks earlier than his firing that he could be getting a particular parking spot because of his efficiency.
“Will Rosenzweig was a wonderful prosecutor who returned thousands and thousands of {dollars} to the taxpayers by prosecuting healthcare fraud instances,” mentioned an announcement from his attorneys, Margaret Donovan, Daniel Fridman and Adam Fels. “But the Division of Justice fired him on the eve of trial as a result of, years in the past as a non-public citizen, he printed criticisms of President Trump. Because the present Division of Justice won’t rise up for the First Modification and the American folks, we are going to. We stay up for vindicating Will’s rights in courtroom.”
The weblog Rosenzweig had maintained had been defunct for over six years on the time of his firing and included his ideas on journey, sports activities and different “apolitical, anodyne matters,” along with important observations about Trump and different political candidates, the lawsuit says. The conservative commentator, Natalie Winters, who has a big on-line following, characterised Rosenzweig as “a rogue Trump hater” as she posted screenshots of a few of his political musings, based on the criticism, which characterizes the firing as a direct assault on Rosenzweig’s free speech rights.
“The Division’s conduct rests on a single premise: a citizen should ceaselessly chorus from criticizing the federal government and its leaders to stay eligible to serve it,” the lawsuit says. “That rule would power each American who may in the future serve to decide on between talking freely now and dealing for the federal government later. Conditioning public employment on political loyalty, the place a celebration card somewhat than benefit opens the door to a authorities job, is a lifestyle in Havana and Caracas. It has no place right here.”
A Justice Division spokeswoman declined to remark, citing pending litigation.
