A top Department of Justice (DOJ) official was reportedly so concerned that now-former President Donald Trump would fire then-acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen that he drafted a resignation letter for himself and the department’s second-in-command, Politico reports. Trump’s push to overturn the election he lost to President Biden in both the electoral and popular vote didn’t sit well with Patrick Hovakimian and the department’s second-in-command, Richard Donoghue.
Trump didn’t end up firing Rosen, and Hovakimian’s draft email was never sent. Politico obtained a copy of it, which shows how seriously concerned the two officials were.
“This evening, after Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen over the course of the last week repeatedly refused the President’s direct instructions to utilize the Department of Justice’s law enforcement powers for improper ends, the President removed Jeff from the Department,” Hovakimian wrote in the email. “PADAG Rich Donoghue and I resign from the Department, effective immediately.”
“The decision of whether and when to resign and whether the ends of justice are best served by resigning is a highly individual question, informed by personal and family circumstances,” he continued. “Jeff asked me to pass on to each of you that whatever your own decision, he knows you will adhere always to the highest standards of justice and act always – and only – in the interests of the United States.”
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The email was dated Jan. 3, 2021, just three days before the twice-impeached one-term president incited the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
“Hovakimian drafted the email on Jan. 3 from the Justice Department’s headquarters after Rosen and Donoghue departed for a meeting with then-President Trump at the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter,” the outlet reports.
“The officials’ threat to resign was first reported by the New York Times, which said the group of Justice Department officials had taken part in a conference call organized by Donoghue,” the report adds. “The officials had agreed on the call to resign together if Trump sacked Rosen.”
The resignation letter highlights the depths Trump went to try to overturn a legitimate and fair election. Thankfully, not everyone was willing to bend to the former president’s demands, or we would be truly screwed right now.
You can read the full report here.
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
