US court rules watchdog chief must stay, says Trump’s removal bid was ‘unlawful’

Washington: The head of a federal watchdog agency must remain in his job, a judge in Washington ruled on Saturday, saying President Donald Trump’s bid to remove the special counsel was unlawful.

US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sided with Hampton Dellinger, who leads the Office of Special Counsel, in a legal battle over the president’s authority to oust the head of the independent agency that’s likely headed back to the US Supreme Court. Dellinger sued Trump last month after he was fired, even though the law says special counsels can be removed by the president “only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” Jackson, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic president Barack Obama, quickly reinstated Dellinger in the job while he pursued his case.

Jackson rejected the Trump administration’s claims that the special counsel’s removal protections are unconstitutional because they prevent the president from rightfully installing his preferred agency head.

The judge said allowing the president to remove the special counsel at will would have a chilling effect on his crucial duties, which include guarding the federal workforce from illegal personnel actions, such as retaliation for whistleblowing.

“The Special Counsel is supposed to withstand the winds of political change and help ensure that no government servant of either party becomes the subject of prohibited employment practices or faces reprisals for calling out wrongdoing - by holdovers from a previous administration or by officials of the new one,” Jackson wrote in her decision.

The Justice Department quickly filed court papers indicating it will challenge the ruling to Washington’s federal appeals court. The case has already gone up once to the Supreme Court, which previously temporarily allowed Dellinger to remain in his job.

The ruling comes as Dellinger is challenging the removal of probationary workers who were fired as part of the Trump administration’s massive overhaul of the government. A federal board on Tuesday halted the terminations of several probationary workers after Dellinger said their firings may have been unlawful.

Dellinger welcomed the court’s ruling affirming his job protections, vowing to continue safeguarding whistleblowers. The judge stressed the Office of Special Counsel’s independence, key to enforcing the Hatch Act and investigating reprisals. The Justice Department argues Trump’s removal attempt was lawful.