Judge orders thousands of fired probationary federal employees reinstated

(WASHINGTON) --  A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary employees fired last month from a half dozen federal agencies.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered the Trump administration to reinstate employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Interior and the Department of Treasury.

He also prohibited the Office of Personnel Management from issuing any guidance about whether employees can be terminated.

Alsup, a Clinton appointee, also ordered the immediate discovery and deposition of Office of Personnel Management senior adviser Noah Peters, who is aligned with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

The judge slammed the attorney representing the Trump Justice Department for refusing to make OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell available for cross examination and for withdrawing his sworn declaration, which the judge called a "sham."

"The government, I believe, has tried to frustrate the judge's ability to get at the truth of what happened here, and then set forth sham declarations," he said. "That's not the way it works in the U.S. District Court."

Lawyers representing a group of unions and interest groups asked Alsup to immediately reinstate thousands of probationary government employees who had been terminated allegedly at the direction of Ezell.

"There is a mountain of evidence before the court that OPM directed it. OPM's actions were unlawful. The plaintiffs have standing, and there is a irreparable harm that is occurring every minute, and it is snowballing," Danielle Leonard, the plaintiffs' attorney, said.

Alsup suggested there might be a "need" for an injunction ordering the reinstatement of the employees based on the government's recent conduct.

"You will not bring the people in here to be cross-examined. You're afraid to do so, because, you know, cross examination would reveal the truth. This is the U.S. District Court," he said. "I tend to doubt that you're telling me the truth."

If the Trump administration wants to reduce the size of the federal government, they need to follow the process established in federal law, Alsup said.

"The words that I give you today should not be taken as some kind of wild and crazy judge in San Francisco has said that the administration cannot engage in a reduction in force," he said.

"The reason that OPM wanted to put this 'based on performance' was, at least in my judgment, a gimmick to avoid their Reduction in Force Act because the law always allows you to fire somebody for performance," Alsup said, adding that the employees terminated for "performance" can't even get unemployment insurance.

The judge also criticized the government for submitting a declaration from Ezell he believed to be false, then withdrew it and made Ezell unavailable for testimony.

"You withdrew his declaration rather than do that. Come on, that's a sham. It upsets me. I want you to know that I've been practicing or serving in this court for over 50 years. And I know how that we get at the truth, and you're not helping me get to add to the truth. You're giving me press releases -- sham documents," he said.

While the judge originally suggested the avenue to contest the firings could be administrative, he noted that the Trump administration is attempting to "decimate" and "cannibalize" the Merit Systems Protection Board by firing its head and special counsel Hampton Dellinger.

"I got misled on something that was no jurisdiction," Alsup said.

The judge also ordered discovery "to get it at the truth because the government is saying one thing, and you're saying another."

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