Introducing the DOJ Tracker: Follow Attacks on the Justice Department
Back in April, at the 100-day mark of President Trump’s second term, we wanted to publish a consolidated list of early deviations and damage at DOJ. Those days brought a flood of news: mass DOGE firings, anti-DEI crusades across the federal government, and targeted terminations of career DOJ officials.
So, we created a fact sheet listing all the attacks on DOJ’s workforce and the institution itself. When we shared it in a press release, the feedback we received from reporters didn’t surprise us; many had been overwhelmed by the administration’s “flood the zone” strategy, and they found this reminder of events helpful.
By day 101, we realized this couldn’t just be a 100-day snapshot – it needed to be an ongoing record. That’s how Justice Connection’s DOJ Tracker was born: a living document of this administration’s escalating assault on DOJ and the rule of law. Most of the significant attacks since January 20, 2025 are catalogued and searchable on our website to preserve a record for now, and for the future.
As the only tracker with this focus, it’s become an essential resource for reporters, Congress, and the public.
And now, we’re launching this monthly Substack series to help you stay informed and engaged in protecting the department. We’ll keep regularly updating the full DOJ Tracker on our website, but we’re hoping these monthly updates offer a more digestible way to keep up with the attacks.
So let’s get to it: Here’s what happened in October.
Government Shutdown
Federal workers, particularly in recent years, have become somewhat used to government shutdowns. Extended ones are painful for many, but furloughed workers were pretty certain that at the end, they’d still have their jobs and would receive back pay.
This year’s shutdown was different. Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought (the one who announced his intention to put federal employees “in trauma”) threatened mass layoffs and floated not paying furloughed workers. Fortunately, mass layoffs at DOJ didn’t come to pass and furloughed workers will be paid, but the uncertainty weighed heavily on feds and their families.
At DOJ, the impact of the shutdown included:
Unprecedented furloughs at three grant-making offices – the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Office of Justice Programs and Office on Violence Against Women. During past shutdowns, those offices were kept open to help grant recipients like local law enforcement, states and community organizations access funding and to provide advice on how to use the money. Without anyone answering the phones, it was difficult for grant recipients to access funds, putting vital programs that support crime victims, domestic violence survivors, local police, and others in danger.
The department flying the banner of partisanship – literally. DOJ’s website displayed a banner blaming Democrats for the government shutdown. OMB also reportedly pressured furloughed DOJ employees to blame Democrats in their out-of-office messages.
Turbulence in EDVA
In late September, DOJ secured an indictment of former FBI director James Comey following a power struggle that ended with the ouster of Erik Siebert, whom President Trump had selected as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA). Lindsey Halligan, a former personal defense attorney for President Trump who had no prosecutorial experience, was installed as the interim U.S. Attorney. Since then, she has been consolidating power inside EDVA (New York Attorney General Letitia James’ indictment for alleged bank fraud was also secured under Halligan).
In October, DOJ initially fired veteran prosecutors Maya Song and Michael Ben’Ary, and later Elizabeth Yusi and Kristin Bird – all senior leaders. Bloomberg reported that this upheaval has shrunk and hobbled EDVA’s national security team, known for bringing important terrorism and espionage cases because of the many intelligence agencies that are headquartered in the jurisdiction. Ben’Ary was head of the office’s national security unit, and Comey’s son-in-law Troy Edwards Jr. had been serving in the unit as a senior prosecutor before resigning in response to the indictment. “We’re losing some of the country’s best prosecutors,” we told CBS News. “Too often, job performance under this Justice Department leadership isn’t measured by competence – in fact, it can be disqualifying. In many cases, blind loyalty is the only factor that matters.”
In a related move, a supervisory FBI agent who refused to arrange a “perp walk” for Comey was relieved of duty. Department leaders later decided against a perp walk ahead of Comey’s arraignment.
Office Closures
Also, in October, DOJ permanently closed the Office for Access to Justice, the Community Relations Service (CRS), and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). Civil rights groups are challenging the CRS closure in court, but a judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order, allowing the closure to continue. “Americans will feel the harm of this administration’s slash-and-burn approach to governing,” we told Reuters. “This isn’t a reorganization – it’s a decimation of some of DOJ’s most vital work.”
Read former OCDETF Acting Director Thomas Padden’s post on our Substack, describing what eliminating the country’s most effective resource in dismantling organized crime will mean for public safety.
Here are a few other things you might’ve missed this month:
A quarter of all FBI agents are now being assigned to immigration enforcement. In some of the largest field offices, that number is upwards of 40%. With so many FBI agents pulled from their desks, some worry that counterterrorism, corruption and drug cases — the kinds of investigations FBI agents typically work on — will slow down.
DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) authorized unilateral strikes on supposed cartel boats in the Caribbean. On Oct. 30, the head of OLC, T. Elliot Gaiser, testified before select House and Senate members that the White House did not need congressional approval to launch the strikes. Gaiser argued that the administration’s designation of certain drug cartels as terrorists allows it to use military force without war authorization.
Trump demanded $230 million from damage claims he filed against DOJ related to two federal investigations into him. His personal defense lawyers at the time are now in charge of the department, creating an unprecedented conflict of interest. As we told CBS News, “This is a clear example of the conflicts posed by installing the president’s personal defense lawyers to run the Justice Department.” Rupa Bhattacharyya, former Director of Director of DOJ’s Office of Constitutional and Specialized Tort Litigation Section, explains in our Substack what DOJ should do with Trump’s demands: nothing.
DOJ suspended two prosecutors who described January 6 attackers as a “mob of rioters,” and then rewrote their sentencing brief to erase any mention of January 6. As we told CNN, “It’s shocking that prosecutors could be put on leave for accurately stating the court record in a sentencing memo, and it’s just as shocking that those truthful statements have been whitewashed in a revised filing. These prosecutors did their job and upheld their duty of candor by informing the court of clearly established facts relevant to their case.”
A pardoned January 6 rioter was charged with threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Mike Romano, a former January 6 prosecutor, discussed this on Substack with our executive director. Emphasizing that only state charges had been brought, Romano questioned why DOJ has yet to charge the pardoned rioter with a federal crime for his alleged threats.
That’s October. We’ll continue tracking and documenting—check back next month for November’s update.
