House Democrats are demanding answers on the Justice Department’s move this week to fire more than a dozen officials involved in former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, arguing the action was in “complete contradiction" of President Trump’s effort to keep a “merit-based system" for government employees.

President Donald Trump’s acting attorney general abruptly fired more than a dozen officials who worked on the two criminal cases against him, his administration’s latest act of retribution against those deemed political enemies.