Never one to shy away from publicizing invaluable information, Peter Carr was recently terminated by the Department of Justice (DOJ). He had served as their spokesman since 2007. Carr’s role was particularly significant during the investigations into former President Donald Trump. Most prominently, he served as a spokesperson for Robert Mueller during the acclaimed prosecutor’s long-running inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election. This follows last month’s announcement of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s dismissal. This move comes as Trump is embroiled in several other legal wars including a recent indictment on keeping classified documents.
In May 2019, Mueller addressed reporters regarding his investigation, stating, “We did not make a determination as to whether” Trump “did commit a crime.” He further elaborated, “If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.” Mueller’s investigation racked up some 37 charges ultimately, landing nearly three dozen individuals, but none against Trump himself. The first was whether there was coordination between Trump’s campaign and Russian intelligence operatives, with the second being whether Trump committed obstruction of justice.
Carr’s ties to Trump go much further than his temporary job at the DOJ. Blanche previously worked with co-counsel Alina Habba, who has fought for Trump in several other criminal proceedings. These cases mostly relied on the New York state case. It resulted in Trump’s indictment for falsifying business records in relation to such hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Just before the end of 2024, the DOJ filed a motion to dismiss each suit. This was all occurring shortly after Trump’s election for his second non-consecutive term. This dismissal was based on the department’s longstanding policy that prohibits prosecution of sitting presidents.
The political consequences of these probes are still very strong. Following Trump’s departure from office in January 2021, Carr continued to serve as a spokesman for Smith’s investigation, which has led to multiple criminal charges against Trump. In the other, a comparatively minor case, Trump is facing the most serious indictment. These charges are about his efforts to subvert the 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden.
The DOJ has experienced massive turnover in leadership recently. Indeed, in late January, many of the career prosecutors working on this investigation were summarily fired. This shakeup raises broader questions about the DOJ’s internal dynamics and its approach to some of the still ongoing cases against Trump.
The legal fight is moving just as fast. At the same time, the public and the media are expectedly watching every move of the DOJ—as well as Trump—under a microscope. CNBC confirmed with DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg that Carr had been fired and that CNBC had been contacted with comment on Carr’s firing.
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