Three former Justice Department (DOJ) employees hit the Trump administration on Thursday with a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination.

The effort was led by former federal prosecutor Michael Gordon, who worked on top cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The complaint was also signed by Patricia Hartman, a former public affairs specialist within the U.S. attorney’s office, and Joseph Tirrell, who previously led DOJ’s Departmental Ethics Office.

In the court filing, the former employees allege that their firings were “not in accordance with the law,” “contrary to a constitutional right, power, privilege, or immunity” and “in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, or short of statutory right.”

This comes amid a wave of approximately 200 terminations at the department amid President Trump’s efforts to shake-up the federal workforce and root out “waste, fraud and abuse.”

“Every time I think we’re at some point when the firings are over, there’s another wave,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said following the mass layoffs. “So, I would predict we’ll see more.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi also fired 20 staffers who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s team, including cases related to Trump’s retainment of classified documents after leaving the White House and his alleged the efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election to former President Biden.

The plaintiffs argue in the lawsuit that Bondi did not have the authority to remove DOJ employees without due process, pointing to guardrails that are in place to protect employees from “unlawful” termination.

They added later in the complaint that “employees should be protected against arbitrary action, personal favoritism, or coercion for partisan political purposes.”

Gordon, a former assistant U.S. attorney was fired by Bondi without an explanation on June 27. 

“The law requires that the government cannot fire a federal prosecutor without first giving warning and then giving a justification, a reason — merit-based reason for firing,” the lawyer said in an interview with WFLA. 

He was terminated the same day as two other assistant U.S. attorneys who also worked on Jan. 6 cases were fired. This indicated that the termination “was retaliation for prosecutions that were perceived as politically affiliated,” the lawsuit reads.

Hartman, who handled some communication related to the Jan. 6 cases, was fired on July 7 in the middle of her workday. Her memorandum of termination cited that she was let go due to Article II of the Constitution, without further explanation. 

Tirell, a U.S. Navy veteran, was terminated on July 11, once again without prior warning, according to the lawsuit. 

“The senseless terminations at the Justice Department are growing exponentially. The very institution created to enforce the law is trampling over the civil service laws enacted by Congress. It’s shameful, and it’s devastating the workforce,” said Stacey Young, executive director of Justice Connection, an DOJ alumni organization trying to protect their colleagues, in a statement to The Hill. 

The DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

An Arizona woman was sentenced to more than eight years in prison on Thursday after she pleaded guilty to helping North Korean tech workers secure remote jobs with hundreds of U.S. firms using false identities.

Christina Marie Chapman, 50, of Litchfield Park, Ariz., helped North Korean workers gain IT positions at 309 U.S. businesses as part of a scheme that reaped in more than $17 million, mostly for Pyongyang, according to a Justice Department statement.

The department said much of the income was falsely reported to the IRS and Social Security Administration using the names of actual U.S. citizens, who had their identities stolen or borrowed. The scheme created false tax liabilities for 68 Americans whose identities were compromised, according to the DOJ.

“The impacted companies included a top-five major television network, a Silicon Valley technology company, an aerospace manufacturer, an American car maker, a luxury retail store, and a U.S media and entertainment company,” the DOJ said in its release.

In the wake of the scheme, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro urged companies to be more vigilant when vetting remote workers.

“North Korea is not just a threat to the homeland from afar. It is an enemy within. It is perpetrating fraud on American citizens, American companies and American banks. It is a threat to Main Street in every sense of the word,” Pirro said in a statement.

“The call is coming from inside the house. If this happened to these big banks, to these Fortune 500, brand name, quintessential American companies, it can or is happening at your company. Corporations failing to verify virtual employees pose a security risk for all. You are the first line of defense against the North Korean threat,” she added. 

Last year, the Justice Department made multiple arrests in connection to foreign remote workers who gained U.S. employment with stolen identities. 

In response to the latest scheme, U.S. District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss ordered Chapman to serve three years of supervised release in addition to the 102-month prison sentence.

She will also be required to forfeit nearly $285,000 that was to be paid to the North Koreans and pay a judgement of more than $175,000.

Chapman pleaded guilty on Feb. 11 in the District of Columbia to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, the DOJ said.

Nearly 2.7 million children in America today — roughly the population of Mississippi — have an incarcerated parent. That staggering number is a reminder that incarceration doesn’t only affect individuals but entire families.

And behind the statistics are real people: parents apart from their children, and children navigating life without a primary caregiver.

We come to this issue from different backgrounds. Teresa is a formerly incarcerated mother who co-founded a nonprofit that supports the successful reentry of people returning from incarceration. She knows firsthand the heartache of being separated from family and the immeasurable value of every call, message or moment of connection. Kevin leads a company that offers responsible technology to incarcerated people and their families. We share a commitment to advancing policies and tools that preserve family bonds and support better outcomes. 

Consider this: Of the 1.9 million people currently incarcerated in the U.S., approximately 50 percent have children under age 18. Additionally, between 4 and 5 percent of women entering correctional facilities are pregnant, meaning that the separation begins early and reverberates through families for generations. 

Generationally, children with an incarcerated parent are five to six times more likely to become incarcerated themselves. They bump up against educational barriers, including higher rates of special education placement, reduced school retention, and increased behavioral issues in classrooms. Why? Separation, particularly when sudden and without explanation, can lead to prolonged instability. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. Technology is helping to rewrite this story. Tools such as secure video calls, e-messaging, educational platforms and digital reentry resources allow incarcerated individuals to stay present in their children’s lives. 

Kevin recently visited Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, a women’s facility in New York that runs one of the few prison nursery programs in the country. The women we met expressed a deep appreciation for the technology available to them, especially the tablets they use to stay in touch with their children. They spoke about being able to see their kids, receive pictures and even access parenting content that helps them stay emotionally connected and prepared for reentry.

Many also highlighted that these same tablets give them access to job training and workforce readiness programs — critical tools that allow them to return home more equipped to support their families and build a more stable future. 

The ability to offer support, witness milestones, or simply say “I love you” was not taken for granted. For many of these women, the technology available to them wasn’t just a convenience; it was a lifeline. It helped them maintain hope and a sense of purpose, with the goal of returning home and being there for their families. Experiencing that perspective firsthand was one of the most powerful takeaways from the visit. 

Maintaining those connections isn’t always easy. Many families face challenges that make regular communication feel out of reach. Safe, affordable technology paired with supportive policies and reentry programming like job readiness training and education offer scalable, impactful solutions. Technology is more than a convenience — it is a foundation for connection to stronger families and safer communities. 

We’ve both seen what’s possible when incarcerated individuals are treated as members of families, not just statistics. And we’ve both witnessed how maintaining those bonds, even during incarceration, can change the trajectory of a child’s life. 

Helping families remain connected, especially during one of the most challenging chapters of their lives, changes outcomes. Let’s ensure our policies and technologies support families, strengthen parent-child connections, and improve the impact of incarceration for families when they are apart.  

Kevin Elder is president of Securus Technologies, a technology communications firm serving prisons nationwide. Teresa Hodge is president of Mission: Launch, a nonprofit focused on improving outcomes for Americans with arrest or conviction records. She is chairperson of the Aventiv Technologies Advisory Board. 

Democratic strategist James Carville ripped Columbia University for agreeing to pay $221 million to President Trump’s administration to restore the school’s federal funding. 

“You were talking about Paramount and how they collapsed. The biggest cavers in the world is Columbia University,” Carville said during a Thursday night appearance on Fox News’ “Jesse Waters Primetime.” 

“I’ve never seen such cowards in my life. My hat is off to Harvard. At least they have guts,” Carville added.

Columbia University announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to a $200 million settlement with the federal government, which will be paid out over the next three years, and $21 million to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 

“This agreement marks an important step forward after a period of sustained federal scrutiny and institutional uncertainty,” acting Columbia University President Claire Shipman said. 

“The settlement was carefully crafted to protect the values that define us and allow our essential research partnership with the federal government to get back on track,” Shipman added.

Columbia lost $400 million in federal funding earlier this year after the administration cut it off over a probe into antisemitism on the Ivy League’s campus. The school argues the deal will allow the institution to keep its academic independence. 

President Trump lauded the deal.

“It’s a great honor to have been involved, and I want to thank and congratulate Secretary Linda McMahon, and all those who worked with us on this important deal. I also want to thank and commend Columbia University for agreeing to do what is right,” Trump wrote on social media. “I look forward to watching them have a great future in our Country, maybe greater than ever before!”

Columbia’s deal was criticized by some Democrats in Congress, including school alum Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.). 

“[M]y alma mater has allowed a once highly-respected institution to succumb to the Trump Administration’s coercive and exploitative tactics,” the New York Democrat said. “Columbia has effectively waived the white flag of surrender in its battle at the heart of the Trump Administration’s war on higher education and academic freedom.”