Attorney General Pam Bondi’s department suspended two federal prosecutors after they described the January 6 attack as a mob-fueled “riot” and referenced Donald Trump as part of their case.
Assistant U.S. attorneys Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White were told they were being suspended soon after filing a sentencing recommendation against Taylor Taranto, who was pardoned by Trump earlier this year for his role in the 2021 attack.
Taranto is now facing sentencing for unrelated weapons charges after he showed up with firearms near Barack Obama’s home, and prosecutors are using his January 6 history to push for an appropriate sentence.
In setting out the “factual background” of their sentencing recommendation, Valdivia and White referred to January 6 as a day when “thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol while a joint session of Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.”
Their filing —which was co-signed by U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro— also noted that when Taranto returned to his home after the riot, he continued to promote “conspiracy theories” about the events of that day.
But in a particularly awkward reference for the President, the prosecutors also said that on June 29, 2023, Trump had published Obama’s purported address on a social media platform.
Taranto then re-posted the address and started live-streaming from his van on his YouTube channel as he drove through Washington’s Kalorama neighborhood, “claiming he was searching for ‘tunnels’ he believed would provide him access to the private residences of certain high-profile individuals, including former President Obama.”
“He walked through the nearby woods and stated, ‘Gotta get the shot, stop at nothing to get the shot’,” the filing said. Investigators later found two firearms and several rounds of ammunition in his van.
The filing is sensitive for Trump, as it links his doxxing of Obama to the criminal actions of Taranto at a time when the administration has repeatedly blamed political violence as a problem incited solely by the “radical left.”
MAGA Republicans have also spent years trying to play down the deadly Capitol attack, which took place after Trump told his supporters at a rally to “fight like hell” to stop Joe Biden’s victory from being certified.
On his first day back in office, Trump even pardoned hundreds of people who had been convicted for their role in the riot and ordered charges to be dismissed for people whose cases were still pending, including Taranto.
The 39-year-old now faces a separate sentencing after being convicted of unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition and making false threats.
Asked about the suspensions, a department spokeswoman told the Daily Beast that “while we don’t comment on personal decisions, we want to make it very clear that we take violence and threats of violence against law enforcement, current or former government officials extremely seriously.
“We have and will continue to vigorously pursue justice against those who commit or threaten violence without regard to the political party of the offender or the target,” she added.
Pirro, the former Fox News host Trump handpicked to run the DC Attorney’s office, provided the same statement.
But according to MSNBC, the department did not only put Valdivia and White on leave - it also locked them out of their devices and escorted them out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office they have worked in for years.
This is not the first time that staff in Bondi’s DOJ have been fired for working on cases related to the Capitol attack or its rioters.
In July, Bondi fired more than 20 Justice Department employees who worked on cases involving January 6 and Trump’s handling of classified documents.
In subsequent months, FBI director Kash Patel has also fired agents who were identified as having worked with Jack Smith, the special counsel who indicted Trump for trying to subvert the 2020 election.
