Attorney General Pam Bondi has abruptly fired the director of the Department of Justice’s ethics office, marking yet another departure amid a sweeping internal overhaul that has already triggered the exit of hundreds of career DOJ attorneys under the Trump administration.
In a four-sentence letter dated July 11, addressed to “Jospeh Tirrell” — a misspelling of Joseph Tirrell’s name — Bondi informed the ethics chief that his termination was “effective immediately.” The letter offered no reason for the dismissal.
Tirrell, who was appointed in 2023, oversaw a 30-person team tasked with vetting financial disclosures, potential conflicts of interest, and ethical compliance across the DOJ — including matters involving the attorney general’s office. His firing follows Bondi’s earlier removal of roughly 20 Justice Department employees tied to former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into Donald Trump.
Tirrell had reportedly authorized Smith’s acceptance of $140,000 in pro bono legal services from the law firm Covington & Burling prior to Smith’s resignation. Whether that approval played a role in Tirrell’s firing remains unclear.
In a public response posted to LinkedIn, Tirrell signaled he would continue his service to the country:
“My public service is not over, and my career as a federal civil servant is not finished… That oath did not come with the caveat that I need only support the Constitution when it is easy or convenient.”
The termination also raises renewed scrutiny over Bondi’s own ethics record. According to Jon Golinger of Public Citizen, Bondi’s decision “shines a bright spotlight back on her own glaring ethical conflicts,” including her past representation of clients like Qatar and Pfizer, and her controversial involvement in DOJ decisions affecting those same entities.
The firing comes amid a mass exodus of DOJ attorneys, especially in divisions tasked with defending presidential actions and civil rights enforcement. Over 100 attorneys from the Federal Programs Branch and roughly 70% of lawyers from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division have reportedly left their posts since Trump’s return to office.
The internal turmoil at DOJ also intersects with growing MAGA unrest over the administration’s mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Bondi had previously hinted in February that a list of Epstein’s alleged clients was on her desk — only to later walk back the claim. Last week, DOJ officials stated that no such list exists, further inflaming frustration among Trump loyalists demanding transparency.
