OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The new Republican leadership in Virginia is letting it be known that there are some new sheriffs in town and they intend to change the state.
New State Attorney General Jason Miyares fired around 30 staffers before starting his job on January 15, including Tim Heaphy, counsel for the University of Virginia, who was on leave for his role as a top investigator on the January 6 House Commission investigating the incident at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, The Washington Post reported.
Tim Heaphy, who had worked at the state’s flagship university for about three years, was among roughly 30 staffers who were let go by Attorney General Jason S. Miyares shortly before he took office a little over a week ago. Democrats have questioned the firings and how they were carried out.
Victoria LaCivita, a Miyares spokeswoman, said the attorney general’s office had also fired the counsel for George Mason University, Brian Walther, saying it is common for an incoming attorney general to appoint counsel that shares its “philosophy and legal approach.”
Both Heaphy and Walther are Democrats.
LaCivita declined to say whether any other counsels at Virginia’s more than three dozen public colleges and universities had been let go.
LaCivita said in a statement that Heaphy was a “controversial” hire and that Miyares’s Democratic predecessor, Mark R. Herring, had “excluded many qualified internal candidates when he brought in this particular university counsel.”
“Our decision was made after reviewing the legal decisions made over the last couple of years,” she said, “The Attorney General wants the university counsel to return to giving legal advice based on law, and not the philosophy of a university. We plan to look internally first for the next lead counsel.”
She did not say what legal decisions she was making reference to and did not mention his role in investigating the incident of January 6.
Democrat Virginia Rep. Elaine Luria said during an interview that she was concerned about Heaphy being removed from his job at The University of Virginia.
“I am very concerned about this,” the representative said. “I am concerned that someone in a position like this (at the university) would be fired for political reasons,” which she believes happened to him and others.
And Democrat State Sen. Scott A. Surovell said he believed the firing was based on politics.
“No attorney general has treated these positions as political,” he said. “By turning these positions into political jobs, it’s going to be very difficult for universities to hire the best talent in our state.”
Michael Kelly, Herring’s former chief of staff, defended Heaphy as a qualified attorney with decades of experience.
“Far from being controversial, his hire was celebrated by the university community and leadership,” he said.
Heaphy said that he was sad to see his time at the university end.
“Serving as University Counsel for the past [three] years has been a tremendous honor and privilege,” he said. “As a two-time graduate of the university, the parent of a current student, and a longtime resident of Charlottesville, I love the university and have been privileged to contribute to its aspiration to be both great and good.”
The authors of The Post story, Justin Jouvenal and Lauren Lumpkin, said that there could be repercussions if the firing is believed to be based on politics.
“Cheney and Kinzinger have become outcasts from their party for participating in the probe, and several Republicans are calling for them to be kicked out of the House Republican Conference.
“Heaphy’s firing could further inflame the tensions around the committee if it is viewed as an act of political retribution,” they said.
