A projection on the DOJ headquarters building that reads, “A government of laws, not of men – John Adams”

“This so-called settlement solidifies the near complete control one man has over the Justice Department,” said Stacey Young, executive director and founder of Justice Connection. “By using DOJ to protect the President, punish his enemies and reward his friends – this time with cash taken from taxpayers – the administration has shifted the country away from a system of laws and toward an era of lawlessness. At the President’s direction, Justice Department leadership fired prosecutors who held rioters accountable, and will select the commissioners who will reward those rioters with cash payments.”

The projection was displayed over a banner hung by Justice Department leadership featuring an image of Donald Trump, a visible reminder to those working in the building of who currently controls their tremendous prosecutorial power. Photos and videos of the projection can be found in this folder.

The “Anti-Weaponization Fund” fits a pattern of corruption that is eroding the Justice Department’s integrity and Americans’ faith in the rule of law. The loss of the department’s commitment to the rule of law has emerged in several profound ways:

Creating a Two-Tiered System of Justice: Our justice system fails when the President dictates prosecutorial decisions. When the President determines who is investigated or prosecuted, he can use the department to treat his political allies favorably while punishing his perceived enemies. When the public fears they could be targeted for opposing the President, or conversely believes they can break the law with impunity, the rule of law is rendered hollow.

Destroying the Separation of Powers: The Constitution clearly gives power to Congress to pass laws, and tasks the executive branch with neutrally enforcing them. However, by declaring himself the “chief law enforcement officer” and using the DOJ to aggressively advance Executive Orders that contradict statutory text, the President overrides laws passed by Congress. This usurpation of legislative authority fundamentally breaks the separation of powers that underpins our legal system.

Evaporating Judicial and Public Trust: Historically, the Justice Department’s integrity earned it a “presumption of regularity,” meaning judges and juries trusted that federal prosecutors were acting in good faith. Because DOJ leadership has repeatedly advanced political agendas, violated court orders, and forced career attorneys to make baseless arguments, this hard-earned credibility has vanished. Judges now scrutinize the department with intense skepticism, and grand juries across the country refuse to indict cases brought by the government. When the public and the courts cannot trust the nation’s top law enforcement agency to tell the truth, the department becomes incapable of effectively enforcing the law, which ultimately threatens public safety.

“This case is a clear example of why Justice Department lawyers take an oath to serve the Constitution, not the White House.  This department’s leadership is intent on abusing its power to curry favor with the President and execute his retribution campaign. The ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ fits a pattern of corruption that is eroding DOJ’s integrity and Americans’ faith in the rule of law.”

“DOJ leaders have made no secret of their intention to investigate and prosecute organizations for expressing disfavored views. Groups have been targeted for being perceived as anti-American or anti-Christian – terms so broad that the administration can choose targets and work backward to find alleged crimes.

“The Justice Department’s mission is to uphold the rule of law, keep the country safe, and protect civil rights. At Justice Connection, we will continue to speak out in defense of that mission and DOJ’s role in ensuring the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.”

“DOJ’s current leaders’ textbook cruelty and hypocrisy are on full display in this report. They insist on zealous advocacy by career staff in advancing the President’s priorities, while shaming and firing those who did just that in the prior administration. They’ve put career employees on notice: if they do their jobs, they face potential termination if future political leadership disagrees with the policy goals of prior leadership.”

Enforcement priorities shift from administration to administration. Career staff at the Justice Department understand this and adjust their approach based on the new policies and procedures issued by new leaders.The report released today exhibits how that shift is executed – career staff worked within the law to comply with an enforcement priority of the Attorney General.

Since the FACE Act was passed by Congress with bipartisan support and signed into law in 1994, career prosecutors have enforced the law’s provisions that promote safe access to reproductive health services. The constitutionality of that part of the law has been upheld consistently by the federal judiciary.

Under every administration, career attorneys have taken seriously their responsibility to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States. This administration, however, officially declared Justice Department attorneys are the President’s lawyers, and that he is their chief client. They have been instructed to ignore court orders, misrepresent facts, and make arguments with no basis in the law.

That desire to push the boundaries of the law has extended to this administration’s use of the FACE Act. For decades, career prosecutors at the Justice Department have intentionally not enforced the statute’s religious-worship provision because of significant constitutional and legal risks. These risks are explained in a Justice Connection Substack post following the department’s decision to charge Don Lemon and several others under this part of the FACE Act.

Justice Connection remains committed to standing up for DOJ’s career workforce and ensuring they have the support to carry out their important role in upholding the rule of law.

“Pam Bondi took a sledgehammer to the Justice Department and its workforce. DOJ’s independence, integrity, and workforce have degraded more under her leadership than at any other time during the department’s 155-year history. What she destroyed in a year could take decades to rebuild. But we have a President who fired her because she didn’t go far enough. Replacing her with a more competent Attorney General who – like her – believes their sole client is the President and not the country may just make things worse. We need the Senate to exercise its constitutional check to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

Bondi has overseen a massive purge of the Justice Department’s apolitical career workforce, resulting in the departure of nearly 16,000 employees and the loss of decades of institutional knowledge.

On her first day in office, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a “zealous advocacy” memo that officially declared Justice Department attorneys are the President’s lawyers – explicitly subverting the Justice Department’s traditional duty to impartially enforce federal laws and uphold the Constitution. The memo threatened that any attorney who refuses to advance the administration’s good-faith arguments due to personal political views will face discipline or potential termination. She has made good on that promise, firing almost 270 employees, often without cause and in violation of civil service laws.

Under Bondi, the Justice Department’s prosecutorial powers have been overtly used to protect the President’s allies and punish his perceived enemies.

Because of her willingness to ignore court orders, misrepresent facts, and make arguments with no basis in the law, Justice Department lawyers have lost their “presumption of regularity” with the courts. Judges no longer believe the department is operating in good faith and telling the truth. This loss of credibility extends to the public as well, with grand juries across the country increasingly refusing to indict cases brought by the Justice Department.

On March 5, the Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed a new regulation formalizing a process in place since the late 1970s and boldly asserting unspecified federal authority over the timing of state bar investigations.

Advisory Board members Jennifer Ricketts and Rupa Bhattacharyya explain in a Substack post why the Justice Department’s new rule does nothing to ensure even-handed accountability for department attorneys. Instead, they argue, it risks undermining independent oversight at a moment when public trust in the department’s willingness to police its own lawyers has already been badly eroded.

The proposed rule creates far more problems than it claims to solve, and it puts DOJ career attorneys directly in the crosshairs. Department attorneys wield tremendous power over Americans’ lives and interests, and alumni best understand the reasons why proper accountability mechanisms must be maintained.

Justice Connection is encouraging all department alumni to submit a comment by April 6, 2026, urging the Department to reject this proposed new rule.

Justice Connection today released a video calling on the Justice Department to work jointly with state and local partners to investigate the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minnesota.

The video comes after both U.S. Senators for Minnesota sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging her to reverse the decision to not coordinate with state and local law enforcement in the Pretti shooting.

“The federal government appears to be shutting state investigators out entirely,” Sam Trepel says in the video. “Typical protocol is that the federal investigators work hand in hand with their state and local partners.”

Trepel was formerly a special litigation counsel in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and led the successful civil rights prosecution of the officers responsible for the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. She is now senior counsel and program director at the States United Democracy Center, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to the rule of law and free and fair elections. She has repeatedly examined and laid out why DOJ’s inaction following these tragic shootings is so damaging for our democracy.

“We’re seeing brutal, violent tactics by federal agents across the country, not just in Minneapolis,” Trepel says. “If cases like these aren’t thoroughly and fairly investigated it sends the message that federal agents aren’t accountable, that they’re above the law. And that’s a very dangerous message to send – for other officers, for the public, and for our American democracy.”

This video is the third in a series of Minnesota-related videos that are part of an ongoing effort by Justice Connection to draw public attention to DOJ’s abdication of its vital role in holding federal law enforcement accountable, as well as to provide direct support to Justice Department employees affected by the administration’s actions in the state.

Justice Connection today released a video calling on the Justice Department to restore its Community Relations Service (CRS), a decades-old unit that de-escalated civil rights conflicts until the Trump Administration shut it down last year.

The video features Julius Nam, who spent 10 years at the department – most recently with CRS. After federal immigration officers killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti, protests erupted and trust in institutions fractured. That is exactly the kind of moment CRS was built for.

“Since 1964, CRS has existed for moments like the one we are seeing in Minneapolis,” Nam says in the video. “When tensions are high, mistrust is deep, and a city needs professional, neutral mediators to manage conflict and keep lines of communication open.”

CRS mediators were critical to preserving peace and interrupting spirals of violence after George Floyd’s death in 2020. They brought Minneapolis law enforcement and community leaders together to share information, jointly stop misinformation from spreading, and develop strategies to keep budding conflicts from turning deadly. Law enforcement officials and community leaders alike praised the impartiality and trustworthiness of CRS mediators.

“CRS has been called America’s peacemaker for good reason,” Nam says. “Had DOJ not closed CRS, our mediators and conciliators would have been available to help de-escalate violent confrontations in Minneapolis. Facilitating constructive communication among police, activists, clergy, and neighborhood leaders with one goal: Peace.”

Last year, the Justice Department dismantled CRS and reportedly moved its functions into the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, keeping one CRS employee and issuing reduction-in-force notices to its remaining employees. While the department has since rescinded some notices amid pending litigation, none of those who have reported to work are performing duties previously conducted by CRS.

“If DOJ leadership is serious about public safety and working with communities to prevent violence, it should start by restoring what it dismantled,” Nam says in the video. “A fully revived and staffed CRS is what Minneapolis and cities across America need to help lower the temperature, rebuild trust, and support lasting peace.”

For more information about CRS, see Justice Connection’s Substack post by three of its previous directors.

This video is the second in a series of Minnesota-related videos that are part of an ongoing effort by Justice Connection to draw public attention to DOJ’s abdication of its vital role in holding federal law enforcement accountable in Minnesota, as well as to provide direct support to Justice Department employees affected by the administration’s actions.

Career prosecutors in this administration are continuing to be forced to make career defining decisions. According to the New York Times, for example, U.S. Attorney Jeannine Pirro in the District of Columbia abruptly told prosecutors who were in the initial stages of investigating six Democratic lawmakers for making a video telling military personnel that they did not have to obey illegal orders that they needed to seek an indictment. They were faced with the decision to comply or resist.

Justice Connection is doing everything it can to support career employees who suddenly find themselves in this position and can no longer work at the department.

“When career employees are forced out of their jobs or fear they will be, they often need help navigating their transition from the Justice Department,” said Stacey Young, executive director and founder of Justice Connection. “There’s no shortage of online job boards and apps that anyone can use, but connecting current and recent DOJ employees with employers who want to hire them in particular is a feature that only Justice Connection provides.”

Employers regularly reach out to Justice Connection because they want to hire exceptionally talented alumni who’ve recently left DOJ or are trying to. The network creates a formal process to collect these job opportunities and share them. The job seekers include not only attorneys but also legal support staff, law enforcement personnel, investigators, intelligence professionals, communications staff, grantmaking staff, as well as administrative and professional staff.

Employers interested in advertising an open position to Justice Connection’s network of DOJ alumni job seekers complete this form, and current and recent DOJ employees complete this form. This initiative is for people who worked at DOJ under the current administration.

The job-posting service builds on an earlier expansion of Justice Connection’s Employment Support Network announced in January, connecting current and recent employees with alumni who will give informational interviews – an opportunity for employees to seek advice and insight related to a specific career path or field. Justice Connection shares non-public lists of alumni volunteers directly with job seekers.

Alumni volunteers providing interviews have experience with many kinds of employers, such as law firms, academic institutions, non-profit organizations, policy and research firms, communications organizations, security companies, and state and local governments.

During its first year, Justice Connection provided a wealth of employment-related information to current and recent staff. We also held virtual employment events for employees across the department. These additional services will provide even greater support to the public servants who need and deserve it.

Justice Connection today released a video featuring a longtime state and federal prosecutor in Minnesota calling for the Justice Department to cooperate with state and local law enforcement investigating the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

In a Senate hearing today, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison confirmed that his office has yet to receive any access to the evidence in either case.

Drew Winter spent over 10 years prosecuting violent crime at the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and 24 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota. 

“In Minnesota, we used to embrace a basic principle: State and federal authorities cooperated with each other,” Winter says in the video. “Where dual jurisdiction existed on a major matter, a joint investigation was a given. That’s why what we are seeing now at DOJ is so startling.”

The video shares comments by superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Drew Evans, and Attorney General Ellison stating that their agents were refused access, blocked by federal agents from reaching the shooting site. 

“If DOJ wants to regain any semblance of credibility in Minnesota,” Winter says, “the first step is simple. Collaborate and coordinate. Share evidence. Include state and local partners. There is no legitimate justification for a federal only approach.”

This video is the first in a series of Minnesota-related videos that are part of an ongoing effort by Justice Connection to draw public attention to DOJ’s abdication of its vital role in holding federal law enforcement accountable in Minnesota, as well as to provide direct support to Justice Department employees affected by the administration’s actions.