On Friday, the Department of Justice terminated the employment of Peter Carr, a former spokesman for special counsels Robert Mueller and Jack Smith, who oversaw extensive probes into President Donald Trump.
Carr, who had been with the DOJ’s media affairs division since 2007, received notice of his termination from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. He communicated the news to reporters via an email titled “My last email to you,” in which he expressed gratitude for his time at the agency.
Blanche has a notable background, having previously represented Trump in various criminal matters. Notable among these was the New York state case that resulted in Trump’s conviction for falsifying business records related to a payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Finance Newso reached out to the DOJ for comments regarding Carr’s dismissal, but no response has yet been provided.
This firing follows the department’s decision in late January to dismiss multiple career prosecutors who had played roles in Smith’s investigation into Trump.
During the Mueller investigation, Carr served as the spokesman, representing the former FBI director as the inquiry scrutinized potential Russian interference in the 2016 election, the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russian officials, and possible obstruction of justice by Trump.
While Mueller’s team charged nearly thirty individuals, Trump himself was not among those indicted. Mueller’s report confirmed ongoing Russian attempts to meddle in the election but found no solid evidence linking Trump’s campaign with these actions. Although the report did not clear Trump of obstruction, it also refrained from explicitly accusing him of a crime.
In May 2019, Mueller stated, “We did not make a determination as to whether” Trump had committed an offense, but emphasized, “If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.” He also noted the constitutional challenges surrounding the charging of a sitting president.
Following Trump’s departure from the presidency in January 2021, Carr transitioned to serve as Smith’s spokesman. Smith’s investigations led to multiple criminal charges against Trump, stemming from actions related to the 2020 election and the retention of classified documents after leaving office.
Specifically, one of the charges involved Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn his electoral defeat to Joe Biden, while another concerned his efforts to obstruct federal efforts to recover classified materials kept at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
However, both cases were ultimately dismissed in late 2024 at the DOJ’s request, following Trump’s election to a second non-consecutive term, due to a policy preventing the prosecution of sitting presidents.
