Top federal Minnesota prosecutors officially terminated after dispute over ICE shooting probe
Several federal prosecutors in Minnesota were formally fired on Wednesday after they gave notice that they had resigned in the wake of internal disagreements over the Justice Department’s handling of...
By Fox News · Fox News
Several federal prosecutors in Minnesota were formally fired on Wednesday after they gave notice that they had resigned in the wake of internal disagreements over the Justice Department’s handling of a shooting investigation involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The DOJ, at the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, terminated the employment of five prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office in Minnesota, including Joseph Thompson, the No. 2 official there, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Their resignations and the internal disputes about the shooting probe first surfaced in The New York Times . The prosecutors were positioned to receive paid leave for months prior to their firings on Wednesday, according to the sources. WHY THE FBI CAN EXCLUDE STATE AUTHORITIES FROM MINNESOTA SHOOTING PROBE Thompson was spearheading a massive, high-profile investigation into welfare fraud in the state before he submitted his resignation. His exit came after he clashed with officials in Washington, D.C., over the investigation into the ICE shooting, which left 37-year-old Renee Good dead. Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota in an effort to reach Thompson for comment. Thompson had expressed during a call with DOJ and FBI officials last week that he was on board with investigating the ICE shooting as an assault on or obstruction of a law enforcement officer, a source familiar with the call told Fox News Digital. Another one of the fired prosecutors, Melinda Williams, who was also involved in the fraud work, was on the call as well, the source said. Thompson also indicated that he believed the shooting was justified, two sources said. Prior to the shooting, he had already been discussing the possibility of resigning, the sources said. Videos of the shooting showed an ICE agent opening fire on Good at close range after she was seen accelerating toward the agent in her vehicle while…