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Washington: President Donald Trump has dismissed the federal government’s top ethics officer and the head of the agency for whistleblowers. This is one of the many actions taken by the Republican president to modify and constrain the government.
Hampton Dellinger filed a case on Monday alleging that he was unlawfully dismissed from the position of the head of Office Special Counsel who is supposed to special counsel federal employees from illegal actions like retribution for whistle blowing. Also on Monday, the, U.S. Office of Government Ethics alleged on its web page that Trump had sacked its director, David Huitema.
Dismissal of Deilingers and Huitema, both of whom were last year approved by the senate for five year contracts, comes at a time when Trump is attempting to encroach on some of the well-established civil service safeguards by trying to destroy federal departments and remove federal employees. The white house said on Monday that the recently appointed Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins is now the acting president of both institutions.
In an interview, Huitema claimed he was informed during the weekend about his removal via an email that lacked any further explanation. Huitema expressed that he was “extremely disappointed,” but added that he is fully committed to the mission of the office and workforce, “who are the epitome of public service.”
Dellinger was let go via an email from the director of personnel at the White House on a Friday evening. In his lawsuit, which he filed in a federal court in Washington, Dellinger noted that it was within the president’s powers to remove special counsels, “only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
As Dellinger said in an email, “The effort to remove me has no factual nor legal basis — none — which means it is illegal.” In claiming that his termination was illegal, and sought a court order to have him reinstated as special counsel, he is asserting once more that he was unlawfully dismissed.
Employees have the ability to disclose government misconduct, punish whistleblowers, or even bring forth reprisal claims which The Office of Special Counsel can investigate.
Dellinger added in his complaint that the office's actions were “unprecedented” because there has been a high amount of firings for no valid reason, especially for those federal workers that are protected by civil services. These actions done by the office put a sudden burden on investigation of allegations and on the overall civil service.
“Dellinger’s firing is both irresponsible and dangerous,” said Stephen Kohn, who is the chairman of the board for the National Whistleblower Center.
In a press release, Kohn claimed, “This action interferes with the objectives of a government program that is very crucial, has reduced federal spending by billions of dollars, and is intended to obligate the reporting of mismanagement, scamming, and misuse of public funds.”
“Besides, the Office of Special Counsel holds secret dossiers on a few hundred, or even a few thousands, of United States Government employees who have reported serious crimes of fraud, absenteeism, and other such conducts. All of whom are in immediate risk of being exposed.”
As the Special Counsel, the Officer also has the jurisdiction to implement the provisions of the Hatch Act. Like most government employees, Dellinger’s removal has come after he has openly supported, and on social media, cheered for the actions of Trump’s Hatch Act, which is purported to avoid political advocacy by government employees while they are on duty.
As opposed to special counsels from the Justice Department, like Jack Smith, who are nominated by the attorney general for particular investigations, this agency operates independently.
Dellinger, prior to becoming a special counsel, served in the Biden administration as an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s legal policy division. Additionally, he worked as a deputy attorney general of the North Carolina Department of Justice and as chief legal counsel for the Governor’s office in that state.
