Patel’s lack of candor will damage the FBI’s relationship with state and local partners.

Red Line for Civil Rights explains what election monitors can and can’t do.

“They could have tried saying, ‘I want to get off this case—put me on other cases,’ ” Young told me. “They sacrificed their jobs and, possibly, their careers to do the right thing.” These actions were especially notable because, contrary to what Trump has claimed, the people resigning weren’t partisan members of the “deep state.” Young noted, “The typical D.O.J. lawyer is fairly apolitical. They’re law nerds.”

EEOC’s proposed rule makes challenging employment discrimination more difficult, biased, and expensive.

Stacey Young, who founded the DOJ alumni group Justice Connection, described the staff turnover as a “massive exodus. The workload has skyrocketed, particularly in the civil division offices that have lost the most lawyers. So what we’re seeing is that the lawyers who are left are overworked, stressed out, many have lost those who led their office because they were pushed out by this administration. And because of the difficult circumstances under which they’re working, I expect that the rate of departures won’t slow down anytime soon.”

Data shows that immigration cases are now the majority of civil and criminal caseloads in U.S. Attorney’s Offices

This administration’s glowing statistical claims don’t add up. We’re making sure the public has easy access to DOJ’s data so they can see what’s happening for themselves.

Stacey Young, executive director of Justice Connection, interviews with Larry Miller about the latest GAO report showing DOGE paid $9.5 billion for federal workers not to work.

A sham prosecution of Dr. Fauci would threaten the rule of law and the health of American families

Brian Dugan, a member of Justice Connection’s FBI advisory committee, joined four other former FBI employees to speak out against the plan to downgrade the Norfolk Field Office to a satellite resident agency of the Richmond Field Office.

[Justice Connection’s] Peter Carr, a former longtime department spokesperson, said he'd "never seen an attorney general that is so willing to use his position in a blatantly partisan way."

Prosecutors and agents voicing opinions without risk of reprisal is essential to the department’s functioning, said Stacey Young, a former DOJ attorney who founded Justice Connection, a support group for department alums. “Right now, too many believe that speaking up can jeopardize their career, financial stability, and reputation.”

[Justice Connection’s] Peter Carr said that before Blanche, he had “never seen an attorney general that is so willing to use his position in a blatantly partisan way. We are part of the executive branch, but we should never be perceived as Republican or Democratic, that we’re using the tremendous power of the Justice Department to favor one party over another,” Carr said. “When you speak at a Republican convention, that purely tells everyone that the attorney general is taking actions to support one party winning in this next election over the other.”

Joseph Tirrell, the Justice Department’s senior ethics official until the Trump administration dismissed him in July 2025, earlier this week [on Justice Connection’s Substack] criticized Mr. Blanche’s participation in the Republican convention. He called the attorney general’s comments at the White House briefing “borderline” unethical, and his participation in the North Carolina rally “terrible.”

Stacey Young, executive director of a DOJ alumni group, warned the public of the negative consequences that may come from the firings. Young cautioned, “These terminations will only cause them (the FBI) to pull back on areas they fear are politically divisive, leading to blind spots in the threat picture and underinformed policymakers.”

Todd Blanche’s appearance at a convention built around cash-for-votes promises, loyalty pledges, and calls to “cheat like hell” was not politics as usual. It warrants investigation.

DOJ employees challenging their terminations are on the front lines of the fight over the President’s power to overhaul the civil service.

By the end of 2025, the Justice Department had lost about one quarter of its lawyers, according to Justice Connection, an organization of DOJ alums supporting the department’s current and former employees. [Justice Connection advisory committee member] Greg Brower adds that “there’s increasing concern” that the Justice Department’s ability to fight terrorism has been “potentially degraded” by funding cuts and increasing politicization, as well as the loss of key personnel with institutional knowledge and expertise.

According to research into federal records by former FBI agent Philip Fields [posted on Justice Connection’s Substack], 1,139 FBI special agents — around 9% of the agent workforce — left the bureau in 2025, with an average of 21.8 years of federal service. That included 407 agents in leadership positions. Two hundred thirty-two FBI intelligence analysts left, averaging 19.6 years of service.

Stacey Young, a former longtime Justice Department attorney who now heads the DOJ alum network Justice Connection, said DOJ leaders from both parties had long held political appointees to a high standard when it came to keeping partisan politics out of government. “The American people must trust that the department’s legal judgments are impartial and insulated from politics,” she said in a statement. “The Attorney General knows this, yet sees no problem speaking at political rallies in New York and now at the RNC. These actions are extremely damaging to the department he leads, whether they comply with the letter of DOJ’s recently weakened policy or not.”

Stacey Young, executive director of Justice Connection, a network of former DOJ employees working to oppose changes at the department under Trump, said Blanche's appearance at a campaign event is the kind of politicization of the Justice Department that the Hatch Act — which limits the partisan political activities of government employees — is meant to prevent. Young said Blanche's actions are incredibly damaging "whether they comply with the letter of DOJ's recently weakened policy or not.

Former justice department lawyers say administration threats to voting rights make opposition from legal advocates crucial. Stacey Young, a lawyer who left the department at the start of 2025 after 18 years to found Justice Connection, a group of more than 3,000 ex-justice department lawyers and other alumni, denounced Trump’s moves “to interfere” with elections. Justice Connection is working with experts in its alumni network to engage with the media, Congress and the public to highlight the justice department’s traditional role in election security and ensuring compliance with federal voting laws.

Our monthly update to track the attacks on the rule of law and the Justice Department. Here’s what you need to know from August.

Jen Psaki shares reporting from CBS News that Donald Trump's FBI director, Kash Patel, has lowered hiring standards for new applicants to the FBI in an effort to compensate for the huge numbers of employees who have left or been driven out since the start of Trump's new term. “According to the non-profit advocacy group Justice Connection, last year the FBI lost 1,139 special agents, with an average tenure of 21 years at the bureau.”

"After driving out thousands of career employees, DOJ has struggled to fill those positions for many reasons — including the fact that no one wants to be ordered to conduct politically driven investigations that are often unethical, illegal or unconstitutional," said Stacey Young, a former Justice Department attorney who now runs the nonprofit advocacy group Justice Connection.

The DOJ’s shrinking workforce has further diminished its efforts. Since Trump was sworn in for his second term, more than 20,000 employees, including one quarter of its attorneys, have left through firings, resignations and retirements, according to the Justice Connection, an organization founded by DOJ alumni.

The Spin Sisters speak with Stacey Young of Justice Connection and discuss the actions of the Trump DOJ on Minnesotans during Operation Metro Surge in surveilling Minnesotans exercise their free speech to protest.

Justice Connection’s letter to the Senate opposing Todd Blanche’s nomination was cited by Talking Feds as they break down the culture of fear that Blanche has instilled at the department.

Justice Connection, the network of Justice Department alumni, now runs a support network for the FBI’s exiles.

Justice Connection’s Stacey Young writes a guest editorial arguing that Congress must protect whistleblowers and demand answers when the agency crosses the line.

For those who could end up in the cross hairs of the administration's retribution campaign, knowing they can rely on support from Justice Connection can be the deciding factor in whether they choose to fight on in the name of Justice.

The elimination of cybersecurity staff at CISA and counterintelligence personnel at the FBI leaves us blind and defenseless against Iranian hacks.

“We don’t see the exodus of career employees slowing down. And I don’t expect that we will unless Todd Blanche implements a course correction,” said Stacey Young, executive director of Justice Connection.

But the Justice Department has strict rules and guidelines to limit the use of federal investigative powers, said Justice Connection, a group of former Justice Department employees critical of the Trump administration. The group said the investigation against the labor unions shows “the danger in conflating ideology with actual political violence.”

The founder of Justice Connection, Stacey Young, said the department under Mr. Trump had been “all over the map when it comes to fraud,” citing its uneven application of prosecutions. “The president pardons scores of wealthy executives, then creates a new fraud division overseen by the vice president,” she said. “The D.O.J. drops multimillion-dollar fraud cases, then pursues people alleged to have defrauded SNAP of a few thousand dollars. Enforcement priorities send a message, and their message on fraud is chaotic.”

Our monthly update to track the attacks on the rule of law and the Justice Department. Here’s what you need to know from July.

Stacey Young, the executive director of Justice Connection, a support group for current and former Justice Department employees, issued a statement agreeing with the sentiments in Blanche’s speech Thursday, but questioned whether he will follow through with them.

Justice Connection, a network of alums, said in a statement that “Blanche’s platitudes will only resonate if his actions start matching his words.” The group noted that the department under Blanche’s leadership has pushed out employees who opposed decisions in high-profile cases or who were deemed insufficiently loyal to the administration’s agenda.

“Under his leadership, hundreds of DOJ’s career workforce have been fired because of their backgrounds, their perceived politics, and for fiercely pushing back in conference rooms throughout the country,” Stacey Young of Justice Connection, a group of former DOJ employees, said in a statement. “Attorney General Blanche’s platitudes will only resonate if his actions start matching his words.”

DOJ employees deserve more than elected officials who stand up in Congress and lie (or fall for a lie) about their morale. They deserve the respect Congress used to show public servants.

The Justice Connection, a watchdog organization that works to protect current and former civil servants working in the U.S. Department of Justice, called his work so far “devastating.”

Giving special thanks to Justice Connection, John Oliver discusses how the Department of Justice has changed since Trump took office for his second term and how the DOJ seems to be acting on his behalf instead of on behalf of the people.

Justice Connection, a DOJ alumni group, previously sent a letter signed by 1,200 former employees opposed to Blanche, a remarkable number in urging the Senate to reject his nomination.

"Courts and the public can't trust DOJ to enforce the law fairly and effectively when the administration hires lawbreakers to fill high-level positions," said Stacey Young, a former Justice Department attorney who founded the nonprofit advocacy group Justice Connection.

Justice Connection amicus briefs argue that the FBI can function fairly only if it’s apolitical.