In The News

CBS News, Sept. 5, 2025

"'Congressional oversight of the Justice Department's unprecedented purge of career employees is desperately needed...employees at DOJ should never be fired simply because they were assigned by their leadership to work on a case disfavored by the President,' Young told CBS News."

MSNBC, Aug. 30, 2025

Stacey Young appears on "Weekends with Alex Witt" to discus what appears to be an escalation of President Trump’s retribution campaign against his perceived political enemies.

The Washington Post, Aug. 30, 2025

Stacey Young quote: "The administration identified seasoned and proven leaders they wanted out...firing them outright likely would’ve resulted in lawsuits and fanfare they wanted to avoid. So they hatched a more devious plan: Send them to a rubber room where they’d resign immediately, or wither and then give up."

Politico, Aug. 28, 2025

“'Some DOJ alumni who fear they may be targets of the president’s lawless retribution campaign have retained lawyers or sought security support as precautionary measures,' Stacey Young...told me. Young created the group to provide support to current and former DOJ lawyers who find themselves in the administration’s crosshairs for one reason or another."

ProPublica, Aug. 27, 2025

Jen Swedish, Justice Connection deputy director and former civil rights deputy chief who worked at the Justice Department for 15 years, called the administration's actions "cover for attacking higher ed."

Business Insider, Aug. 22

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Stacey Young, the founder of Justice Connection and a former DOJ civil rights lawyer.

Bloomberg, Aug. 14, 2025

Stacey Young: "The number of those [DOJ lawyers] who've been asked to take positions they believed were illegal or unethical is considerably higher than most people realize."

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, Aug. 14

Michael Feinberg, Justice Connection Advisory Committee Member and former FBI Assistant Special Agent, joins Jon Stewart to discuss the weaponization of DOJ and FBI and the dismantling of the workforce.

Democracy Docket, Aug. 9, 2025

“'President Trump clearly does not want the best people leading our U.S. Attorney’s Offices — loyalty is the only requisite,' Stacey Young...told Democracy Docket."

MSNBC, Aug. 5, 2025

“'If an agency’s political leaders have antipathy toward diversity and inclusion, as we know the FBI’s do, it’s fair to assume they believe that women and people of color in top career positions got there because of identity,' said Stacey Young"

Bloomberg Law, Aug. 4, 2025

"'Hundreds of people have reached out to Justice Connection, the nonprofit group Stacey Young helped found to provide pro bono legal representation and other services. With an influx of former attorneys looking for jobs, the work is 'emotionally taxing' and intense to be involved in, but Young...said it 'feels good to be doing something important.'"

The Guardian, August 4, 2025

“'These unprecedented firings at the justice department are growing exponentially,” Young told the Guardian. 'They happen with no notice and no opportunity to be heard, in violation of the Civil Service Reform Act and due process. Many people, and even their supervisors, have no idea why the firings targeted them or why now.'"

CBS News, Aug. 3, 2025

"'It's normally pretty rare for career DOJ attorneys to run for office. They actively steer clear of partisanship at the department,' said Stacey Young...'It makes perfect sense that for some, serving through elected office, outside the president's chain of command, is a viable alternative.'" Young added.

NPR, July 30, 2025

"The immigration courts are part of the Justice Department. And Deiss is one of more than 200 career civil servants in the department to lose their jobs this year, according to Justice Connection, a group that works to help current and former DOJ employees."

BBC, July 30, 2025

"Justice Connection, a group representing former federal prosecutors, published a letter signed by over 900 former justice department attorneys urging senators to 'rigorously examine' Mr Bove's time at the agency."

The Hill, July 29

“'A new whistleblower, whose disclosures have not been publicized, has strong evidence that Emil Bove was not truthful to the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing for his nomination to serve on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals,' Peter Carr, a spokesperson for Justice Connection, said in a statement."

The Atlantic, July 29, 2025

"Feinberg found himself adopted by what he calls an 'exile community' of former Justice Department and FBI officials working to help one another adjust to post-government life. Many have found support in the organization Justice Connection."

The New York Times, July 29, 2025

Stacey Young quote: "Employees no longer see Congress as a viable option, faced with the prospect of being discounted or criticized...Mr. Grassley and other lawmakers have only contributed to the culture of fear that’s hindering meaningful transparency and accountability."

Bloomberg, July 24, 2025

"Stacey Young, a former DOJ attorney and executive director and founder of Justice Connection said these 'senseless terminations' are happening with no notice for the employees or, in most cases, their office leadership, leaving them 'scrambling to fill the large gaping holes in their caseload and office structure.'”

NBC News, July 24, 2025

"The new administration has fired roughly 200 Justice Department employees, according to Justice Connection...'The way in which these employees have been terminated seems like a pretty clear violation of the Civil Service Protection Act and general constitutional due process protections, and it's been destabilizing for the workforce...' said Stacey Young."

The NPR Politics Podcast, July 23, 2025

"'The Senate has a duty to thoroughly examine nominations to all judicial appointments. And by voting to confirm Emil Bove to a lifetime appointment, they would be doing more than placing someone problematic on the bench; they would be giving their stamp of approval on everything that has happened at DOJ over the last six months. And that is simply unacceptable,' said Stacey Young."

Boston Globe, July 22, 2025

The Washington Post, July 19, 2025

"The total number of lawyers, agents and support staff DOJ has fired since the administration began in January includes dozens more people, according to Justice Connection...the group estimates that more than 200 career employees have been fired across the department and its component agencies, which include the FBI and the ATF."

Financial Times, July 18, 2025

"'Under Bondi,' says Stacey Young...the department is 'focused on defending the president. If there are career employees who are perceived as not furthering that goal, they have been fired in large numbers and the department has really become a shell of its former self.'"

The Washington Post, July 17, 2025

"Ahead of the vote, more than 900 former DOJ attorneys signed a letter to the senators expressing alarm over Bove’s nomination. The attorneys accused Bove of ignoring constitutional principals and longtime DOJ norms as he fired employees and pursued legal strategies in the name of the president’s politics, citing his push to drop the Adams case."

MSNBC, July 17, 2025

"And yet I cannot recall such fierce and widespread opposition to a former prosecutor’s nomination — not just from a range of ideological backgrounds, not just from the legal community generally, but from more than 900 former Justice Department attorneys and former judges — until the nomination of Emil Bove."

ABC News, July 17, 2025

"More than 900 former Justice Department employees sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday urging lawmakers to vote down Bove's nomination. He has fired scores of one-time career officials at Main Justice and the FBI, including prosecutors who worked on former special counsel Jack Smith's investigations of Trump as well as the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob."

NPR, July 17, 2025

"'The rule of law is really only as strong as the institutions that enforce it and then interpret it — chief among them the DOJ and the judiciary,' said Stacey Young...'And it would be disgraceful to elevate someone who's degraded one of those institutions to a lifetime seat on the other.'"

Above the Law, July 16, 2025

"Almost 1000 lawyers informed the Senate that Emil Bove is not worthy of a federal judgeship."

CBC, July 16, 2025

"The letter was signed by officials who served from as far back as the Kennedy administration through the current Trump administration, and it was organized by Justice Connection, a new group launched to advocate on behalf of Justice Department workers."

The Hill, July 16, 2025

“'Emil Bove has been an architect and enforcer of many of the attacks on DOJ and its employees,' said Stacey Young, executive director and founder of Justice Connection, which organized the letter. 'His nomination to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals sent shockwaves across DOJ’s workforce, and should alarm all Americans concerned about the Department’s future and the survival of the rule of law.'"

Reuters, July 16, 2025

"'We are all alarmed by DOJ leadership's recent deviations from constitutional principles and institutional guardrails,' the former department employees wrote, adding that he had 'disgraced' the department. The letter was signed by officials who served from as far back as the Kennedy administration through the current Trump administration, and it was organized by Justice Connection."

HuffPost, July 16, 2025

“'It is intolerable to us that anyone who disgraces the Justice Department would be promoted to one of the highest courts in the land,' they wrote to senators...Stacey Young, executive director and founder of Justice Connection, which organized everyone signing onto the letter, said Bove has been 'an architect and enforcer' of many attacks on th DOJ and its staff."

The New York Times, July 16, 2025

“'Mr. Bove’s trampling over institutional norms in this case, and in others, sent shock waves through the ranks — cratering morale, triggering mass departures, and eroding the effectiveness of DOJ’s vital work,' the letter said. The letter was signed by 915 lawyers, according to Justice Connection...which organized it."

The New Yorker, July 10, 2025

Stacey Young, who resigned from the D.O.J. in January and founded Justice Connection, a group that supports Department employees, estimates that about two hundred people have been dismissed. According to Young, dozens more have been transferred to lesser positions; thousands have resigned.

The Washington Post, July 10, 2025

Stacey Young quote: “People are left baffled and then come up with theories about why they were fired. It’s not always obvious to them, or to even their direct supervisors, what the reason is. It’s wild. I can’t think of a more flagrant violation of civil service protection laws.”

CNN, June 25, 2025

"Justice Connection...released a video on Monday with statements from formal federal prosecutors warning the public of Bove’s alleged unlawful practices. 'We don’t bring charges or dismiss them based on political loyalties. Emil Bove asked us to base a prosecutorial decision not on the facts, not on the law, but on a political calculation,' [Ryan] Crosswell says in the video."

The New York Times, June 25, 2025

"Stacey Young...said confirming him [Emil Bove] only carried risks. His testimony 'proved again today why he is such a dangerous nominee,' she said. 'It’s possible to be smart, experienced and morally bankrupt. If you are No. 3, No. 1 and No. 2 can’t save you.'"

CNN, June 24, 2025

“'It’s unconscionable to even consider elevating someone to the judiciary who told DOJ lawyers that saying ‘F-you’ to courts was on the table,'” said Stacey Young."

MSNBC, June 24, 2025

According to a report by the New York Times, Reuveni said in meetings surrounding the use of the Alien Enemies Act by the administration to deport undocumented people, Bove proposed violating court orders, telling staff that the DOJ would need to consider telling courts “f— you.”

Talking Points Memo, June 24, 2025

"Justice Connection, a group of Department of Justice alumni, has also released a scathing video explaining why Bove is wildly unqualified for the bench."

CNN, June 24, 2025

Stacey Young quote: “Emil Bove is a principal architect of this administration’s project to bulldoze over the separation of powers and the rule of law. It should go without saying that anyone who believes court orders can be defied belongs nowhere near the federal bench."

NPR, June 23, 2025

"[Stacey Young] warns that turning attorneys into at-will employees would change the nature of the department entirely. 'It would demand a level of sycophancy that we have not seen since the 19th century,' she says."

The San Francisco Standard, June 23, 2025

"Stacey Young told The Standard that Dhillon’s agenda is 'the definition of politicization and weaponization...she made it clear that the division is going to focus on voter fraud, which is largely a political fiction.'"

NPR, June 21, 2025

"Under the Civil Service Reform Act, federal employees have strong job protections. There are steps the government must follow before taking any disciplinary action. They cannot be removed based on political whim. [Stacey] Young says this is for the good of the American people."

CBS Evening News, June 17, 2025

Stacey Young sat down with Scott MacFarlane to discuss the Justice Department's loss of 4,000 employees to the Trump administration's government downsizing initiative. "The department has suffered an irreparable loss through the thousands who've left through the deferred resignation program," said Stacey Young.

CBS News, June 17

"'The department has suffered an irreparable loss through the thousands who've left through the deferred resignation program,' said Stacey Young. 'Many of those who resigned wanted to stay, but they were told to take the offer or face termination,' she said."

Bloomberg Law, June 16, 2025

"Stacey Young said the number of resignations illustrates 'the reshaping of the Justice Department into President Trump’s image' and Trump’s preference for loyalty over career experience."

Law.com, June 5, 2025

Jen Swedish has joined Justice Connection as its deputy director. Justice Connection just launched a legal network to provide pro bono representation to current and recent DOJ employees facing federal employment-related actions, as well as criminal, congressional and other investigations related to their work with the department.

Bloomberg Law, June 4

"Stacey Young, founder and executive director of Justice Connection, said the pro bono representation network was part of her original idea when founding Justice Connection, after she realized there wouldn’t be enough federal sector lawyers and specialists to represent DOJ employees who need it."

Law360, June 4, 2025

"Justice Connection, a group founded by former U.S. Department of Justice attorneys in response to the Trump administration's ongoing purge of the department, has launched a pro bono legal network to represent DOJ attorneys being 'unfairly targeted' by the administration."

NOTUS, June 4, 2025

The network is made up of volunteers who are familiar with the ins and outs of the department and are willing to brave retribution from the White House.

Chicago Tribune, June 3

Stacey Young quote: "Targeting employers for DEIA initiatives isn’t something that’s contemplated by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act or the precedent that has evolved interpreting that statute. It’s a political stunt, and they’ve weaponized the civil rights division to advance it."

NBC News, May 28, 2025

Stacey Young quote: “Pardoning a sheriff who took cash for deputy badges is just the latest in a string of actions this president has taken to undermine any effort to hold officials accountable to the public they are sworn to serve."

Democracy Docket, May 22, 2025

"Stacey Young, the founder of Justice Connection and a former longtime attorney in the DOJ’s civil rights division, told Democracy Docket. 'They seem to be targeting the President’s political enemies, which is antithetical to how the rule of law must work.'"

NPR, May 19, 2025

"Grant talks to Stacey Young. Young is a former DOJ lawyer of 18 years who left the department in January. Since then, she started the group Justice Connection, which aims to help former DOJ employees fight back against an administration that's been weaponized against them."

Grant Hermes Podcast, May 16, 2025

Stacey Young said, "It's absolutely the dismantling of the [Civil Rights] Division when, in just a couple of months, you have radically diverted enforcement in a way that drives out almost three-quarters of the division. There's no other way to describe that but a dismantling."

NBC News, May 15, 2025

Stacey Young said, "The administration gutted the Public Integrity Section, neutered the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C., and is now shuttering the FBI’s pre-eminent federal public corruption squad. This isn’t what voters had in mind when they heard, ‘drain the swamp."

AP, May 14, 2025

“'He did not choose to investigate Mar-a-Lago; rather, the facts and evidence of a serious breach of law and national security led him there,' Peter Carr, a spokesman for Justice Connection, a network of Justice Department alumni, said on behalf of Bratt."

The Guardian, May 14, 2025

“'In addition to treating the civil rights division staff with complete disrespect, they’re also utterly incompetent,' said Stacey Young, who started Justice Connection. 'They drove people out and only after the fact seem to have realized that that was a terrible idea.'”

CNN, May 14, 2025

“'This administration and its proxies have made no effort to hide their willingness to weaponize the machinery of government against those they perceive as political enemies,' Justice Connection spokesman Peter Carr said in a statement to CNN. 'That should alarm every American who believes in the rule of law.'"

The Guardian, May 14, 2025

“'This administration and its proxies have made no effort to hide their willingness to weaponize the machinery of government against those they perceive as political enemies. That should alarm every American who believes in the rule of law,' said Peter Carr, a spokesman for Justice Connection."

The Marshall Project, May 14, 2025

Oneshia Herring, a Justice Connection advisory board member and former chair of the Department of Justice’s Association of Black Attorneys and a former attorney in the Civil Rights Division, said the administration’s selective enforcement of the law is “running against the very nature and spirit of which these laws were created.”

NPR, May 13, 2025

Stacey Young quote: "It's absolutely the dismantling of the division when, in just a couple of months, you have radically diverted enforcement in a way that drives out almost three-quarters of the division. There's no other way to describe that but a dismantling."

Democracy Docket, May 12, 2025

"The voting section of the U.S. Department of Justice has only three attorneys left on staff, according to an estimate provided by a group working to support the department’s remaining staff."

NBC News, May 9, 2025

"Stacey Young, a former DOJ lawyer who co-founded Justice Connection, a group dedicated to supporting current and former DOJ employees, said current and former DOJ and FBI officials remain concerned about Patel’s approach."

Associated Press, May 3, 2025

“'The Civil Rights Division is charged with ensuring that Americans have access to the polls and that their votes matter,' said Stacey Young. 'The division’s job is not to promote the politically expedient fiction that voting fraud is widespread.'"

The Guardian, May 1, 2025

"Stacey Young, a former civil rights division attorney who started the group Justice Connection, called Dhillon’s message 'sadistic.' 'I’ve never seen DoJ employees treated with the kind of malice from their own government, like we’re seeing now.'"

MSNBC, Apr. 29, 2025

Justice Connection Founder Stacey Young joined Alicia Menendez on MSNBC's "Deadline: White House" to warn the American people about the devastating impact of losing 70% of Civil Rights Division attorneys.

The Washington Post, Apr. 29, 2025

“'For almost 70 years, the civil rights division has enforced laws that Congress passed to promote equality, dignity and fairness for all Americans,' said Stacey Young. 'By effectively purging the vast majority of the division’s lawyers, DOJ is grinding this work to a near halt.'”

Bloomberg, Apr. 28, 2025

“'I’ve never heard my former colleagues sound so defeated and scared for the future of their work, and also their own jobs. There’s enormous fear and anxiety about the division’s future,' Young said."

The Hill, Apr. 28, 2025

“'The impact is catastrophic. They are scaling back possibly, nearly all enforcement that they have been doing for decades on civil rights statutes they’re required to enforce,' said Stacey Young."

The New York Times, Apr. 28, 2025

“'With the reckless dismantling of the division,' Young said, 'we’ll see unchecked discrimination and constitutional violations in schools, housing, employment, voting, prisons, by police departments and in many other realms of our daily lives.'”

NBC, Apr. 24, 2025

“'This administration can’t claim to care about things like supporting crime victims, curbing gun violence, and reducing opioid deaths while slashing grants to entities that do the hard work to achieve these goals,' said Stacey Young"

CBS News, Apr. 24, 2025

"Former Department of Justice Civil Rights Division official Stacey Young told CBS News, 'This administration can't claim to care about things like supporting crime victims, curbing gun violence, and reducing opioid deaths while slashing grants to entities that do the hard work to achieve these goals.'"

NBC News, Apr. 23, 2025

“'Every presidential administration has its own policy priorities,' said Stacey Young, who spent 18 years in the division before resigning in January, 'but I don’t think there’s any precedent for an administration almost completely refocusing the civil rights division’s enforcement priorities the way this one has.'"

The Wall St. Journal, Apr. 15, 2025

"Stacey Young, a former DOJ lawyer who worked with Reuveni, said she knew him to be one of the government’s most zealous advocates, even when defending unpopular policies. 'But he’d never shirk his ethical responsibilities and commitment to the rule of law, and the fact that DOJ attorneys now seem to be expected to do so is appalling,' said Young."

Reuters, Apr. 15, 2025

Featured quote from Stacey Young: "The new policy represents another unwarranted attack on DOJ employees - one that stifles their free speech in their private lives and creates new ways for the administration to oust career public servants who don't toe the party line."

The Washington Post, Apr. 10, 2025

Google wrongly labeled Justice Connection's Fox News ad as "misinformation” and removed our YouTube page. Google denied our appeal with no explanation until The Washington Post reached out for comment.

Justice Connection, Apr. 9, 2025

Justice Connection founder and executive director Stacey Young testified about ongoing attacks on the Justice Department’s workforce before members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees in a hearing on “Restoring Accountability: Exposing Trump’s Attacks on the Rule of Law.”

Talking Feds Podcast, Apr. 8, 2025

Justice Connection's Stacey Young joins Talking Feds Podcast alongside reporters Devlin Barrett and Evan Perez to discuss the current state of the DOJ's workforce under the new Administration.

NBC News, Apr. 7, 2025

"Democratic members of Congress are set to spotlight Justice Department employees who resigned or were fired in recent months. Also at the hearing will be Stacey Young, a Justice Department veteran who launched the group Justice Connection to support department employees who were fired or resigned."

The New York Times, Apr. 7, 2025

"'Justice Department attorneys are being put in an impossible position: Obey the president, or uphold their ethical duty to the court and the Constitution,' said Stacey Young."

AP, Apr. 6, 2025

"Stacey Young, a former Justice Department lawyer and founder of Justice Connection, a network of department alumni that works to support employees, released a statement that defended Reuveni: 'We should all be grateful to DOJ lawyers who choose principle over politics and the rule of law over partisan loyalty.'"

NBC News, Apr. 5, 2025

"The head of Justice Connection, a network of former Justice Department employees, defended Reuveni, saying in a statement that he has 'defended his clients with great skill and integrity — never as a loyalist or partisan, but because he believes in the rule of law.'"

NBC News, Apr. 2, 2025

“'The White House firing career prosecutors for doing their jobs is likely unprecedented,' Young told NBC News. 'It’s also the very weaponization this administration pretends to oppose.'”

AP, Mar. 31, 2025

Quote from Justice Connection's Stacey Young: "The integrity of our legal system and the independence of DOJ requires that laws are enforced impartially, which cannot happen when the White House fires career prosecutors to advance a political agenda."

Reuters, Mar. 27, 2025

"'Gutting DOJ and merging ATF and DEA weakens law enforcement’s ability to combat gun violence, the fentanyl epidemic, and generally keep American communities secure and healthy,' said Stacey Young, founder and executive director of Justice Connection."

ABA Journal, Mar. 25, 2025

ABA on formation of Justice Connection: "The goal is to have an 'army of alumni from the largest law firm in the world' prepared to help DOJ employees through the complex federal employment appeals process when they are fired, demoted or face other related issues."

Axios, Mar. 25, 2025

Axios featured Justice Connection's mental health resources, including its provider list provided to DOJ employees, in a story about therapists offering free mental health support to federal employees.

CBS, Mar. 11, 2025

Stacey Young sat down with Scott MacFarlane at CBS News to discuss the dangerous attacks on DOJ employees. Cuts of the interview aired on three CBS News shows and on CNN.

Justice Connection, Mar. 10-11, 2025

Our open letter in support of DOJ prosecutors was covered by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Associated Press, ABC, CBS, Axios, and others.

Bloomberg Law, Feb. 24, 2025

"Justice Connection, was launched as mass layoffs and leadership shakeups have rocked the federal workforce since President Donald Trump took office."

Bloomberg Law, Feb. 16, 2025

“'Transferring the authority over ethics and employee discipline from a career stalwart like Brad Weinsheimer to partisan loyalists could further expose employees to political retribution, and exacerbate the culture of fear at the Department,' said Stacey Young, who resigned after 18 years as a DOJ attorney Jan. 31 to launch Justice Connection."

NPR, Feb. 6, 2025

"A veteran Justice Department lawyer has left the agency and is starting a new group to help advise and defend government lawyers under attack from the new administration."

The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 5, 2025

"Trump administration officials have 'declared war on their own workforce,' said Stacey Young, a litigator in the Justice Department’s civil rights division who resigned last month and set up an outside group, Justice Connection, to help employees navigate the workplace confusion."

The New York Times, Jan. 31, 2025

"The group, Justice Connection, intends to support employees who say they are facing professional and ethical crises under the new administration."

House Committee on the Judiciary, Jan. 31, 2025

Stacey Young, Founder and Executive Director of Justice Connection, delivers opening remarks at the Democratic briefing, titled "Rights, Resources, and Recourses for DOJ Employees Targeted by the Trump Administration."

House Committee on the Judiciary, Jan. 31, 2025

Justice Connection's founder provides statement to the House Committee on the Judiciary during the Democratic briefing, titled "Rights, Resources, and Recourses for DOJ Employees Targeted by the Trump Administration."

The New York Times, Jan. 12, 2025

Justice Connection's Executive Director, Stacey Young, publishes a call to action in The New York Times days before the inauguration.