A career Justice Department official fired following a viral hidden-camera sting has officially named Attorney General Pam Bondi and the United States government in a federal lawsuit, alleging his termination over private political comments was an unconstitutional “hit job.”
Joseph H. Schnitt, III, formerly the Acting Deputy Chief of the Special Operations Unit within the Criminal Division, filed the complaint Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The 23-page filing describes his two decades of service as “exemplary” before he was “suddenly, arbitrarily and unlawfully” ousted on September 5, 2025.
The lawsuit centers on an August dinner date in Virginia with a woman Schnitt met on the dating app Hinge. Unbeknownst to him, the woman—identified in filings as Dominique Phillips—was secretly recording the encounter for James O’Keefe’s media group.
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In the footage released in September, Schnitt was captured speculating that the Trump administration would likely redact Republicans from the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files while leaving Democrats exposed.
Schnitt’s legal team argues the dismissal violated his First Amendment rights, emphasizing the conversation occurred off-duty and reflected personal opinions derived solely from public news sources.
The filing notes that the DOJ posted Schnitt’s internal explanation to its official social media account before firing him without a hearing.
Schnitt has demanded a jury trial and is seeking immediate reinstatement, back pay, and a formal declaration that the administration retaliated against him for protected speech.
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