A prosecutor's dream becomes a nightmare

Celia Cohen joined the Southern District of New York after years of dreaming of becoming a federal prosecutor. She loved the job and planned to spend her career there, until the Trump administration ordered her to apologize for prosecuting Mayor Eric Adams.

“This is the best day of my life!”

The Adams case becomes political

After Trump's second inauguration, the acting Deputy Attorney General ordered the Southern District to drop charges against Mayor Adams, claiming the case interfered with his immigration enforcement. The U.S. Attorney objected and resigned.

“an improper offer of immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case”

Prosecutors ordered to confess wrongdoing

The Justice Department demanded that Cohen and other prosecutors apologize for their work on the Adams case, declaring they had acted wrongfully. Cohen knew this would make her an apparatchik and resigned.

Hirschman's dilemma: exit or voice

Political theorist Albert Hirschman wrote that officials in deteriorating organizations face a choice: exit or stay and try to fix things. But staying risks becoming complicit, while leaving abandons those who depend on you.

“the disutility, discomfort, and shame of remaining a member to the prospective damage which would be inflicted on him as a nonmember”

Mass exodus from the Justice Department

One in five government lawyers have left since Trump took office in 2025. The Justice Department saw the largest decline, with more than four thousand departures, roughly thirty percent of its workforce.

Stacey Young starts Justice Connection

After quitting the Civil Rights Division, Young founded Justice Connection to help current and former Justice Department employees facing ethical crises. The nonprofit has assisted hundreds of attorneys with legal counsel and mental health services.

Prosecutors resign over ICE shooting

Six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned after being pressured to investigate the widow of Renée Good, a U.S. citizen killed by an ICE agent. They sacrificed their jobs rather than participate in what they saw as retaliation.

Cohen's apolitical colleagues

Cohen notes that most Justice Department lawyers are apolitical law nerds who rarely discuss politics. They're motivated by the law itself, not partisan ideology, making their resignations about principle rather than politics.

“I'm allergic to extremes”

The case for staying put

Some prosecutors argue that quitting abandons the mission and the people they serve. Career officials can slow-walk dubious directives, create paper trails for accountability, and prevent loyalists from taking over.

“make them fire you”

The Argentina precedent

A prosecutor cited a book on Argentina's military junta, where the secret police filled with loyalists who'd been promoted for their willingness to follow orders, including torture. The same dynamic is unfolding at the Justice Department.

Matthew Evans fired for objecting

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Evans objected to charging an ICE officer only with false statements rather than civil rights violations for shooting an unarmed migrant. He was fired the next day and is now under criminal investigation for allegedly leaking case details.

“I objected in the strongest possible terms”

Zachary Phillips leaves before retirement

Phillips, a former cop turned prosecutor who worked on January 6th cases, resigned just three years before earning a full pension. He felt complicit training younger colleagues whose skills might be used to subvert the rule of law.

“it was amazing how good I immediately felt”

Civil Rights Division transformed

Under Harmeet Dhillon, the Civil Rights Division shifted from protecting minorities to investigating diversity programs and universities over Gaza protests. The division closed lawsuits against police departments for discriminatory policing.

Robinson holds the line, then breaks

Robinson urged colleagues to stay and document wrongdoing, but the emotional toll became unbearable. When nearly all managers resigned, she broke down and left on May 30, 2025, along with seven co-workers.

“I wish the fire would come into this car, so I wouldn't have to go into that building”

Samantha Trepel finds better work outside

Trepel, who led the George Floyd investigation, concluded staying served little purpose as cases were dismissed and investigations closed. She now works at a nonprofit protecting elections and defending against federal overreach.

“The D.O.J. left me. I didn't leave the D.O.J.”

Erez Reuveni refuses to lie

Reuveni, an immigration litigation official, refused to sign a brief falsely describing a migrant as a terrorist after objecting to violations of court orders. He was fired and his whistleblower complaint was dismissed as a political strike.

“I didn't sign up to lie”

Speaking up from within becomes dangerous

Justice Connection and Protect Democracy published a guide on how federal workers can safely contact reporters about wrongdoing. But Justice Department attorneys know that talking to the press can now get them fired or prosecuted.

Former prosecutors sue the administration

Alexander Kristofcak and other former Justice Department lawyers have joined nonprofits like the Washington Litigation Group to sue the Trump administration over violations of the rule of law.

The presumption of regularity shattered

Federal judges have expressed alarm that the Justice Department has lost the trust it once enjoyed. Judges discovered the government lied about hospitals and manipulated grand juries, destroying the credibility prosecutors once had.

“D.O.J. has proven unworthy of this trust at every point in this case”

Recruitment crisis signals deeper damage

The Justice Department is now offering twenty-five-thousand-dollar bonuses to recruit lawyers, a sign that few attorneys want to work there. The staffing shortage may hamper the administration's ability to advance its agenda.