Bondi Fires Top DOJ Ethics Adviser

Attorney General Pam Bondi has fired her personal ethics adviser, removing the Justice Department’s top official responsible for counseling the most senior political appointees, according to two people familiar with the move.

Joseph Tirrell, a career attorney who’d spent nearly 20 years at the department, received a termination letter from Bondi July 11 that didn’t state a reason for his immediate removal from federal service. Similar to notices the Trump administration has sent to dozens of other DOJ civil servants, Bondi cited Article II of the Constitution, which concerns presidential powers, the sources said.

Tirrell headed the DOJ’s ethics office. His portfolio included reviewing and approving financial disclosures, recusals, waivers to conflicts of interest, and advice on travel and gifts for Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, and other DOJ leaders.

He also oversaw a team of ethics staffers that provide guidance to employees in all the department’s litigating offices, law enforcement agencies, and other branches.

Tirrell’s removal is separate—but potentially related—to the roughly 20 employees involved in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations, according to numerous media reports, were also fired July 11.

Tirrell advised Smith’s office on ethics matters during his criminal prosecutions of President Donald Trump, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share a sensitive personnel matter. That includes Tirrell approving Smith’s receipt of $140,000 in pro bono legal fees from Covington & Burling that he disclosed upon concluding his investigation.