United States: New Administration must halt sweeping attacks on independent justice, says rights expert
Press releases
Special Procedures
07 March 2025
GENEVA -- The new US administration is conducting a purge of justice officials in apparent retaliation for doing their jobs, a human rights expert said today, expressing serious concern for the rule of law and the functioning of the justice system in the country.
"Since the new administration took office on 20 January 2025, a significant number of lawyers, prosecutors and immigration judges have been reassigned, transferred or dismissed without following standard procedures," said Margaret Satterthwaite, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers*.
The affected lawyers include many prosecutors at the Department of Justice (DOJ) who were fired after reportedly working on criminal investigations of President Trump or prosecutions stemming from the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.
"Since these firings, a number of DOJ prosecutors have resigned rather than taking what they consider to be inappropriate action in other cases," the expert said.
"These actions come amid public statements by government officials and others characterising judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials as weapons of the previous administration."
On 5 February 2025, the Attorney General announced the establishment of a "Weaponization Working Group" tasked with reviewing the activities of civil and criminal enforcement agencies over the past four years. "This suggests that the actions taken against justice officials to date may be only the beginning of a course of conduct aimed at removing these professionals and replacing them with individuals loyal to the new administration," the Special Rapporteur said.
"I am deeply concerned that these attacks are part of an ongoing pattern of harassment of independent justice professionals," the expert said. She pointed to the recent articles of impeachment filed by members of Congress against three federal judges in apparent retaliation for their rulings against the government, as well as the decision to remove senior Judge Advocates General (JAGs) from the US Army, Navy and Air Force, despite the key role these legal advisers play in ensuring that military actions comply with the law, including international humanitarian law.
"Independent justice personnel are a necessity for the rule of law and separation of powers," Satterthwaite said. "The US government must stop its interference and ensure that justice, not politics, is allowed to prevail."
The Special Rapporteur is in contact with the Government on the issue.
Margaret Satterthwaite is the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.
Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.
Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/.
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