U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled on Wednesday that a previous order barring President Donald Trump from firing the head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel will be extended until Saturday, March 1.
"It is incumbent upon this Court to resolve this matter even more expeditiously than the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure would ordinarily permit; and the Court will do so," she wrote. "Given the significance of the constitutional questions presented, though, it is also incumbent upon the Court to give full consideration to all of the arguments advanced during today’s hearing before it finalizes its opinion."
On Feb. 10, Hampton Dellinger sued the Trump administration saying he was illegally dismissed, arguing that special counsels can be removed by the president "only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office."
Judge Berman Jackson immediately ruled saying Dellinger must be permitted to serve as special counsel while she considered his request for a temporary restraining order to keep him in the job. She said the Trump administration could not "deny him access to the resources or materials of that office or recognize the authority of any other person as special counsel."
Dellinger was nominated by former President Joe Biden in 2023 and confirmed in 2024 to lead the OSC, an agency that was established in 1989 and tasked with overseeing enforcement of the Whistleblower Protection Act and, later, the Hatch Act — a federal law that prohibits civil service employees in the executive branch from engaging in certain political activities, including taking active parts in campaigns. Dellinger had come under fire from Republicans due to his connection to Hunter Biden where the two both worked in the Washington, D.C. offices of Boies Schiller Flexner.
Last week the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in via an unsigned order that Dellinger could remain at his job until Wednesday at midnight when the initial ruling was set to expire.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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