A former federal prosecutor who spent years working for Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office has filed suit against U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s office and other federal officials for her April firing from the Department of Justice.
Sunita Doddamani was fired in April after securing convictions against a group of Christian protesters accused of blocking access to abortion clinics. Doddamani was assigned to the case, which pursued charges under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, after being hired by the U.S. attorney’s office in 2023.
In her lawsuit, Doddamani argues her termination was in retaliation for her “perceived political affiliation and beliefs” because of her participation in the FACE Act cases. The DOJ announced the day of her firing publicly that it had terminated employees “responsible for weaponizing the FACE Act” and released a report the next day featuring a “highly misleading account” about the cases.
In her suit, Doddamani alleges violations of her First and Fifth amendments as well as arbitrary or discriminatory personnel actions in violation of the Civil Service Reform Act.
“The CSRA thus safeguards Ms. Doddamani’s ability as a civil servant to carry out her employment duties and to pursue justice without political fear or favor,” the lawsuit said.
Doddamani’s involvement in the FACE Act case, referred to as United States v. Zastrow, included handling arraignments and bond hearings, filing pre-trial motions and presenting the government’s first witness, the suit indicated.
“Ms. Doddamani’s limited role in United States v. Zastrow was carried out in accordance with her professional and ethical obligations, and it was carried out at the direction and under the supervision of the USAO leadership that had assigned her to the trial team,” the lawsuit said.
The Department of Justice declined to comment on pending litigation and referred The Detroit News to the department’s social media post from April: “DOJ has terminated the employment of personnel responsible for weaponizing the FACE Act who still remained at the department.”
Doddamani is a former Michigan assistant attorney general who was one of the lead prosecutors of three men convicted in a state court in 2022 in the terror plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She also led the Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism Unit within the attorney general’s office and is a former Wayne County and Macomb County assistant prosecutor.
Doddamani joined the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Michigan in January 2023 and was assigned the FACE Act cases later that year, shortly before the indictments were issued in the case.
“Ms. Doddamani understood that she was being put on the team because of her extensive trial experience, particularly in cases involving multiple defendants,” the lawsuit said. “Ms. Doddamani carried out her duties as a trial team member under the supervision of USAO leadership. The case resulted in convictions of all eight defendants.”
Doddamani was fired April 13 without cause being given for her termination, the lawsuit said, but the DOJ announced that day that it had terminated employees “responsible for weaponizing the FACE Act.” The next day, the Justice Department released the report on the FACE Act prosecutions in which Doddamani participated.
The report involved a review of more than 700,000 internal records, and alleged that Justice Department officials during President Joe Biden’s administration engaged in “blatant anti-Christian bias,” collaborated with pro-abortion groups to track pro-life activists’ First Amendment activity, and targeted individuals for prosecution.
Prosecutors were accused of withholding evidence from defense lawyers and trying to remove jurors based on religion. During the anti-abortion trial in Detroit, prosecutors tried to find ways to screen prospective jurors based on conservative or religious views while not asking about liberal views, according to the report.
“They referred to Christian pro-life views as ‘culty’ and lambasted the defendants’ beliefs in the courtroom,” the report reads.
The report was released 15 months after Trump pardoned eight people convicted in federal court in Michigan for their roles in separate illegal blockades at abortion clinics in Sterling Heights and Saginaw. The eight were among 24 that Trump pardoned after they’d been accused of blockading abortion clinic entrances and came ahead of an annual anti-abortion protest called March for Life in Washington, D.C.
Doddamani’s lawsuit indicates presidents of both parties — Trump in his first term and Biden — had prosecuted individuals based on the act’s provisions safeguarding access to reproductive health services. Prior prosecutions, the lawsuit said, have been brought against anti-abortion activists and abortion rights activists.
The lawsuit noted FACE Act enforcement of anti-abortion activists was a particular target of the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which the suit alleges Trump and his administration “took immediate action to implement.”
Three days after taking office, the suit noted, Trump pardoned 24 individuals convicted under the FACE Act and the attorney general’s office issued a memo effectively prohibiting FACE Act prosecutions related to abortion. Trump issued executive orders to end “anti-Christian bias” and the “weaponization of the federal government,” which led to a Weaponization Work Group within the Office of the Attorney General that would review criminal prosecutions under the FACE Act.
Doddamani’s suit indicates she was on annual leave April 13 when she received a call indicating she had been terminated and found an email from Blanche indicating the same.
The lawsuit alleged the U.S. Attorney for Michigan’s eastern district, Jerome Gorgon, held a meeting that day with office managers in which he indicated Doddamani had been fired for “misconduct.” But Doddamani’s suit maintains she was never told her performance was unsatisfactory and had received outstanding ratings.
“Unlawful terminations are a frequent tool of the Trump Administration to achieve its political aims,” the suit said. “DOJ officials have repeated attempted to justify firings and workforce reductions by portraying the employees targeted as culpable for the now-disfavored cases they had been assigned.”
Doddamani had secured new employment by April 27.
Usually, under the Civil Service Reform Act, a federal employee’s first request for relief from government action would be filed with the Merit Systems Protection Board, but seeking relief there under Trump’s current arrangement would be “futile,” the lawsuit said. Doddamani’s suit argued she still can seek relief in other proper forums, such as the federal district court.
The suit seeks an order finding Doddamani’s firing violates the Civil Service Reform Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, First Amendment protections against retaliation based on perceived political affiliations and Fifth Amendment due process protections.
The court should reinstate Doddamani’s employment, the lawsuit requests, correct records indicating any misconduct, and award backpay and any other monetary relief, including attorney costs and fees.
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Ex-federal prosecutor sues DOJ, argues firing tied to abortion case
Reporting by Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
