Former federal prosecutor sues DOJ, claiming politically motivated dismissal over FACE Act case
Sunita Doddamani, a former assistant U.S. attorney, filed a lawsuit alleging her April firing was retaliation for work on a Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act prosecution.
Former assistant U.S. attorney Sunita Doddamani sued the Justice Department, contending that her dismissal in April was a politically motivated retaliation for prosecuting anti-abortion activists under the FACE Act. On the day she was fired, she lost access to DOJ communications and was escorted from the building, after the U.S. attorney for Michigan’s Eastern District announced the terminations for alleged misconduct without having prior knowledge.
Doddamani’s attorneys argue the action breaches the Civil Service Reform Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and the First and Fifth Amendments. The complaint names Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. attorney Jerome Gorgon, Executive Office director Francey Hakes and several DOJ agencies as defendants. The lawsuit also criticizes a 900-page DOJ report that accused the department of weaponizing the FACE Act, calling its claims unsubstantiated. The case underscores a broader partisan clash over how the DOJ applies the FACE Act to both anti-abortion and pro-life activists.
Why it matters
The suit raises questions about political interference in federal prosecutions and the protection of civil service employees.
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