Trump's plant in the DOJ was barred from the building after she harassed staff for evidence of election fraud, report says
- The White House's mole at the Justice Department was ousted after pressuring staff for evidence of electoral fraud, three sources told The Associated Press.
- Heidi Stirrup was placed in the department as a White House liaison in September. She was one of several Trump loyalists sent to monitor government departments.
- Stirrup was barred from entering the building after officials "learned of her efforts to collect insider information about ongoing cases and the department's work on election fraud," the AP reported, citing the three people.
- President Donald Trump's team has filed several lawsuits challenging the election result, which he has falsely claimed is fraudulent, but those efforts are failing.
- Attorney General Bill Barr said on Tuesday that the Justice Department and the FBI found no evidence to validate the president's claims.
The White House's plant in the Justice Department was blacklisted after she pressured staff to hand over evidence of election fraud, The Associated Press reported on Thursday, citing three people familiar with the matter.
Heidi Stirrup, a key ally of Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump's senior policy advisor, was appointed as the White House liaison at the department this fall.
Stirrup was told to leave the Justice Department building sometime in the past two weeks after officials "learned of her efforts to collect insider information about ongoing cases and the department's work on election fraud," the AP reported, citing the three people.
Stirrup is said to have engaged in other misconduct at the Justice Department, including offering allies top department jobs without White House approval.
The Justice Department and the White House did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
The Justice Department has largely been silent about Trump's baseless claims that the US election was fraudulent. There is no evidence to suggest there was widespread voter fraud, and Attorney General Bill Barr said on Tuesday that neither the Justice Department nor the FBI had found evidence to validate the president's claims.
Trump and his allies have filed at least 32 lawsuits challenging the election results and have so far won none of them.
Stirrup was one of several Trump aides planted in various government agencies in September by Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, and John McEntee, the head of personnel, CNN reported.
Another was Joshua Whitehouse, who was moved from the Department of Homeland Security to the Defense Department, Foreign Policy reported.
Last week, Whitehouse sent a directive removing 11 of the 13 members on the department's Defense Policy Board. Officials told Foreign Policy that the purge was intended to free up room for new appointees loyal to Trump.
In June, the White House positioned two political operatives at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to keep tabs on its director, Robert Redfield.
Stirrup is still technically employed by the Justice Department, the AP said, but Trump on Thursday nominated her for a role on the US Air Force Academy's board of visitors.
Before being sent to the Justice Department, Stirrup was the acting director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement and a deputy White House liaison to the Department of Health and Human Services.
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