By Jerry Dunleavy
Published: April 2, 2025 10:56pm
Updated: April 3, 2025 12:05am
The judge who this week blocked efforts by the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to fire employees involved with divisive DEI programs previously helped kneecap one of special counsel John Durham’s cases tied to the Russia collusion hoax.
Judge Anthony Trenga, appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by President George W. Bush, blocked efforts by the CIA and the ODNI to terminate intelligence officers who had been tied to so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” efforts during the Biden administration.
That preliminary injunction requires the agencies to hear any "requested appeal from any decision to terminate him or her, consistent with the steps set forth in CIA Regulation 4-16, including to permit Plaintiffs to submit 'written comments' explaining why they should not be terminated, to provide Plaintiffs with a written notification of the Director’s decision, and to provide reasonable notice of the status of any pending appeal."
Trenga, the judge who also oversaw Durham’s case against the Russian-born Igor Danchenko, kneecapped the special counsel ahead of the October 2022 trial, including ruling that Durham could not use details from the FBI’s prior counterintelligence investigation into Danchenko. He was accused of being the main source for British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s debunked dossier. Trenga limited a host of other evidence Durham had sought to show the jury as well.
During the trial, Trenga dealt Durham's case another blow as he dismissed one of the false-statement charges brought against Danchenko, who was acquitted of all charges in October 2022. The Eastern District of Virginia is known for handling many national security cases, and Trenga has also been a member of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court since May 2020, and has been the presiding judge on the secretive court since May 2023.
https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/judge-who-blocked-cia-efforts-fire-dei-employees-kneecapped-durhams