A federal court judge ruled late Saturday that President Trump illegally fired special counsel Hampton Dillinger, a key watchdog for federal employees, and the judge ordered Mr. Trump’s team not to interfere with him in any way.
The sweeping order by Judge Amy Berman Jackson is a significant blow to Mr. Trump, with Mr. Dellinger not only fighting his own firing but moving to block the president’s attempt to fire other “probationary” federal workers.
Judge Jackson seemed intent on heading off any shenanigans, issuing an order specifically instructing the administration not to “obstruct or interfere with his performance of duties” and not to try to appoint an acting special counsel to delegitimize Mr. Dellinger.
She declared the Feb. 7 email firing Mr. Dellinger to be “an unlawful, ultra vires act.”
“Therefore, it is null and void, and plaintiff is and shall be the special counsel of the Office of Special Counsel for the remainder of his five-year term unless and until he is removed in accordance with 5 U.S.C. §1211(b),” she said.
That’s the section of law that says Mr. Dellinger, an Obama appointee, can only be fired for cause.
The Trump Justice Department immediately filed a notice of appeal of the decision.
Mr. Trump’s team argues that Judge Jackson has imposed an unconstitutional limit on his power to oversee the executive branch. They argued that Mr. Dellinger exercises core executive powers, which must be under the control of the president.
Instead, they said, Mr. Dellinger is actively thwarting the president by working against the firing of the probationary employees.
Judge Jackson, though, concluded that Mr. Dellinger’s job is unique in that he answers not just to the president but to Congress and the public. Indeed, he serves as a watchdog on the executive, she wrote.
If he could be fired it would give the president “a constitutional license to bully officials in the executive branch into doing his will.”
The special counsel’s job is to police Hatch Act violations, work on behalf of government whistleblowers and otherwise investigate cases where federal employees faced inappropriate personnel moves.
Mr. Dellinger has challenged the firing of six probationary employees the Trump administration tried to can as part of its remake of the federal bureaucracy. The special counsel won a 45-day pause on those firings from the Merit Systems Protection Board.
Judge Jackson, an Obama appointee, had previously issued a restraining order keeping Mr. Dellinger in his post while the case was being argued. Her new ruling is an injunction.
The case will likely speed to the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia and soon after will reach the Supreme Court.
Mr. Trump’s team had already asked the justices to block Judge Jackson’s restraining order, but the high court held the case in abeyance to give Judge Jackson more time to complete a formal ruling on the injunction.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.