On March 27, Reagan Fondren was terminated from her role as acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee and Department of Justice (DOJ) employee. One day later, Adam Schleifer was fired as a DOJ prosecutor.
Fondren received word of her termination “in a one-line email.” No clear reason was given for her firing. What makes her firing yet more inexplicable is her wealth of experience as a DOJ official.
She [Fondren] has worked in federal public service with the United States Department of Justice for her entire career and has served as an Assistant United States Attorney for over 16 years.
United States Attorney’s Office
Fondren’s previously held role as the Chair of the Diversity Committee made her a likely target in this new round of purges, as the Trump administration has sought to dismantle Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts throughout the federal government.
Schleifer was fired in yet another terse email. He was not fired for any apparent professional wrongdoing. Politics and Trump’s own political interests stand as likely causes for the dismissal. He ran as a Democrat for the House of Representatives in 2020, and dared to publicly criticize Trump. Schleifer, as a federal prosecutor, butted heads with a Trump ally in the courtroom.
The NYT reported Schleifer was fired as federal prosecutor as he worked on the prosecution of Andrew Wiederhorn, a Trump donor and former CEO of Fat Brands, which owns fast-food chains Fatburger and Johnny Rockets.
Wiederhorn is facing federal charges that a DOJ statement alleges “relates to a scheme to conceal $47 million in distributions he received in the form of shareholder loans from the IRS, FAT’s minority shareholders, and the broader investing public.”
Axios
Fondren was replaced by Joe Murphy as interim U.S. Attorney for her Memphis district. Schleifer will likely be succeeded by Bill Essayli as U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. Essayli is an open and dedicated Trump ally.
