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Featured Stories March 07,2025 | Independence Journal Editorial Team

Appeals Court Grants Trump Administration Power To Remove Special Counsel Amid Legal Dispute

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of President Donald Trump, allowing him to move forward with the removal of Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel, while legal battles over the firing continue.

The decision, issued by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, blocks a previous ruling by Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, who had determined Trump’s action was unlawful. The panel of three judges — one appointed by President George W. Bush, one by President Barack Obama and one by President Trump — granted the administration’s request to stay Jackson’s order, effectively removing Dellinger from his position.

“This order gives effect to the removal of appellee from his position as Special Counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel,” the court stated. It also noted that the administration met the strict requirements necessary for a stay while the appeal process moves forward.

The Justice Department has maintained that the president has the authority to remove government officials, arguing that Article II of the Constitution grants him the power to dismiss executive branch employees at will. DOJ lawyers asserted that Jackson had no authority to reinstate Dellinger, contending that her ruling interfered with the executive branch.

Dellinger, a Biden holdover, had been leading an independent agency responsible for investigating misconduct in federal employment and protecting whistleblowers. His removal has sparked legal debate over whether the Office of Special Counsel should be insulated from presidential authority. Jackson, in her ruling last Saturday, rejected Trump’s argument that restrictions on the special counsel’s removal were unconstitutional, stating that the position was meant to be independent and protected from political influence.

“It would be ironic — to say the least — and inimical to the ends furthered by the statute if the Special Counsel himself could be chilled in his work by fear of arbitrary or partisan removal,” Jackson wrote in her opinion.

Dellinger may appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has previously weighed in on the case. Earlier in the process, the high court declined to immediately intervene, allowing lower courts to address the legality of Trump’s decision first.

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to expedite its review of the case, signaling that a final resolution may come soon.

 

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