Breaking from Michael Balsamo and Zeke Miller at AP:
The official serving as President Donald Trump’s eyes and ears at the Justice Department has been banned from the building after trying to pressure staffers to give up sensitive information about election fraud and other matters she could relay to the White House, three people familiar with the matter tell The Associated Press.
Heidi Stirrup, an ally of top Trump adviser Stephen Miller, was quietly installed at the Justice Department as a White House liaison a few months ago. She was told within the last two weeks to vacate the building after top Justice officials learned of her efforts to collect insider information about ongoing cases and the department’s work on election fraud, the people said.
So Stirrup was told to get out and stay out of Justice headquarters within the last two weeks. Her ouster likely pre-dated Barr’s interview with the AP where he said the DOJ had not substantiated any significant fraud claims in the election.
And there’s more…
Stirrup had also extended job offers to political allies for positions at some of the highest levels of the Justice Department without consulting any senior department officials or the White House counsel’s office and also attempted to interfere in the hiring process for career staffers, a violation of the government’s human resources policies, one of the people said.
Stirrup is a real winner…
Stirrup, who previously was a central figure in the Trump administration’s push for hard-line immigration policies, technically still remains in her position after being placed at the Justice Department by the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
The Trump administration has been working to have liaisons report directly to the White House instead of the agencies where they work. Across the administration, there have been concerns that the liaisons were undercutting the work not just of career professionals but also of Trump’s own political appointees.
Trump essentially installed spies across departments in September:
Question for attorneys acquainted with federal law: Are the actions of Stirrup worthy of investigation and possible prosecution?
I imagine this may have been part of the reason for Barr telling AP a couple of days ago that they have found no substantial election fraud. Interesting note: The reporter interviewing Barr for that story was Michael Balsamo, who is also one of the bylines on this piece.
A concerted push-back from DOJ, no doubt. Barr will probably be gone soon, but look for more leaks. These appear to be shots across the bow of the S.S. Trump.
Thursday, Dec 3, 2020 · 9:51:06 PM +00:00 · Bob Johnson
Here’s the story from Kaitlan Collins and CNN on the Trump administration essentially installing spies in all departments in September:
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows recently emailed government agencies informing them that many of the White House liaisons are being removed from their roles in anticipation of President Donald Trump winning a second term, CNN has learned.
The liaisons will be replaced with officials who will report directly to the White House instead of the agencies to which they're assigned -- a move aimed at giving the White House more political hiring power.
Previously the liaisons worked in conjunction with the White House's Office of Presidential Personnel and the agencies they served, while ultimately reporting to the agencies' heads. With this change, the liaisons will instead report directly to the White House.