'Assault on the public servants': Ex-DOJ officials calls out 'destruction' of department
www.alternet.org

... A group of 282 former Justice Department (DOJ) officials has issued a warning accusing President Donald Trump of systematically eroding the core functions and independence of the DOJ.

In an open letter, the officials " none of whom are political appointees " claim the Department is under attack, MSNBC reported Monday.

"We believe it's our duty to sound the alarm about this administration's degradation of DOJ's vital work, and its assault on the public servants who do it," the letter reads, per the report.

The signatories are said to include a wide cross-section of long-serving career employees including prosecutors, FBI agents, analysts, immigration judges, civil rights lawyers and more.

Many of those who were forced out, they say, were involved in investigations relating to Jan. 6, 2021 riots, or inquiries into Trump himself. Others resigned quietly, unwilling to be complicit. All were nonpartisan career civil servants, not political appointees, per the report.

The letter accuses the current DOJ leadership of violating constitutional norms and threatening retaliation against employees who don't align with the president's wishes.

Some of the actions they point to include demotions, forced reassignments, firings, and pressure to abandon investigations. These moves, they argue, are draining the department of its institutional memory and eroding its ability to recruit and retain capable, independent staff. ...