The DC Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in the Hampton Dellinger case even though he did everything to stop the court.
The DC Circuit court judges Henderson (George W. Bush appointee), Millett (Obama appointee), and Walker (Trump appointee) ruled against Dellinger.
The Appeals Court, citing Seila Law and Collins, claimed the government satisfied its burden and said it would likely succeed in arguing the US President has the power to remove the head of an agency with a single top officer.
“On the first factor, the government has satisfied its burden. “[T]he Constitution prohibits even ‘modest restrictions’ on the President’s power to remove the head of an agency with a single top officer,” the judges wrote.
(“[T]he President’s power to remove ‘executive officers of the United States whom he has appointed’ may not be regulated by Congress or reviewed by the courts.”) they said.
“Accordingly, the government is likely to succeed in showing that arguments about the scope and functions of the Special Counsel as a sole agency head do not affect the President’s removal power,” the judges wrote.
The judges also agreed with the DOJ judges and said the government sufficiently demonstrated that Hampton Dellinger exercised enough authority to contradict Trump’s directives.
The court cited Hampton Dellinger’s decision to reinstate thousands of fired probationary employees fired by Trump.
“To be able to obtain the reinstatement of thousands of employees in a single agency, even if only temporarily, with such a vague standard of review seems to suggest the Special Counsel’s powers are not as limited as he claims,” the judges said.
President Trump fired Hampton Dellinger, the Special Counsel for the Office of Special Counsel last month, however, the Biden holdover continued to fight Trump in court and was successful because the case was assigned to a corrupt Obama judge.
Last week the appeals court granted a motion to stay Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s order reinstating the Biden holdover.
Following the ruling from the DC Circuit Court, Hampton Dellinger said he is ending his legal fight with Trump.
“I’m ending my legal battle so my time as Special Counsel and head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is now over,” Hampton Dellinger wrote in a statement.
Last week Hampton Dellinger tied to stop the appeals court from issuing a ruling but the DOJ fought back.
The DOJ accused Hampton Dellinger of attempting to “prevent the issuance” of an opinion from the appeals court.
On Friday, Hampton Dellinger filed a shocking motion to dismiss his appeal in his latest effort to block the court from issuing a ruling.
“Hampton Dellinger moves to dismiss the appeal because it is moot, with each side to bear its own costs,” Hampton Dellinger’s attorneys wrote.
Dellinger lost on Monday when the DC Circuit Court of Appeals granted the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal.
This decision will likely impact other similar cases involving Cathy Harris and Gwynne Wilcox.
