The resignation of at least seven Justice Department officials after refusing to drop charges against an ally of President Donald Trump marks the first significant defiance of Trump by federal officials, raising the conflict between the president and his critics to a new level.
The mass resignation is drawing inevitable comparisons with the 1973 Saturday Night Massacre, when Justice officials quit rather than obey President Richard M. Nixon’s orders to fire the Watergate special prosecutor. And in the current moment, the action could create a precedent for further acts of resistance if Trump orders other government officials to do things they find inappropriate or believe would violate their legal responsibilities.
“It’s obviously unprecedented, as far as I know. It’s a very big deal,” said Robert S. Litt, a former senior Justice Department official in the Clinton administration. Attorneys, he said, “don’t resign because you disagree with the policies, but because you are being asked to do something you believe is ethically, morally or legally improper.”
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The departures may be particularly resonant because some of the key figures have strong conservative credentials, bearing little resemblance to the “radical left lunatics” that Trump often depicts as his enemies. They have laid out their reasons for quitting in legalistic but evocative terms, giving their actions an added punch.
The mass resignation is drawing inevitable comparisons with the 1973 Saturday Night Massacre, when Justice officials quit rather than obey President Richard M. Nixon’s orders to fire the Watergate special prosecutor. And in the current moment, the action could create a precedent for further acts of resistance if Trump orders other government officials to do things they find inappropriate or believe would violate their legal responsibilities.
“It’s obviously unprecedented, as far as I know. It’s a very big deal,” said Robert S. Litt, a former senior Justice Department official in the Clinton administration. Attorneys, he said, “don’t resign because you disagree with the policies, but because you are being asked to do something you believe is ethically, morally or legally improper.”
ADVERTISING
The departures may be particularly resonant because some of the key figures have strong conservative credentials, bearing little resemblance to the “radical left lunatics” that Trump often depicts as his enemies. They have laid out their reasons for quitting in legalistic but evocative terms, giving their actions an added punch.
