In the first case to reach the Supreme Court from Donald Trump’s second term, a federal appeals court panel on Wednesday said the president could fire Office of Special Counsel head Hampton Dellinger for now, while litigation continued. But that temporary action will apparently turn into a more permanent one, because Dellinger said Thursday that he’s ending his legal fight, in a statement that seemingly alluded to questions surrounding the administration’s compliance with court orders.
“I strongly disagree with the circuit court’s decision, but I accept and will abide by it. That’s what Americans do,” Dellinger said.
His case could have returned to the justices eventually, but that possibility was not enough for the now-former head of the agency that protects whistleblowers. “This new ruling means that OSC will be run by someone totally beholden to the President for the months that would pass before I could get a final decision from the U.S. Supreme Court,” Dellinger said. He said his legal fight had been one “for the ideal that OSC should be as Congress intended: an independent watchdog and a safe, trustworthy place for whistleblowers to report wrongdoing and be protected from retaliation.”
Advertisement
His statement follows Wednesday’s action from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which is a step below the Supreme Court in the appeals process. A three-judge panel of the appellate court paused a trial judge’s ruling that kept Trump from immediately firing...
FactCheck Tom Wark Australia Disaster and Accident Environmental Issue Global Warming Meteorological Disaster Natural Disasters Weather What was claimed Official data shows tropical...