DOJ Staffers Leave Brutal Notes Ripping Trump and Bondi for Causing ‘Irreversible Damage’

November 26, 2025 Justin Peters

Washington, D.C. – Nearly 5,500 Department of Justice employees have departed since President Donald Trump’s January 20, inauguration—through buyouts, quits, or firings—leaving behind a trail of blistering farewell messages that accuse Attorney General Pam Bondi and the president of inflicting “irreversible damage” on the nation’s premier law enforcement agency.

The Justice Connection, a network of FBI alumni and DOJ veterans, has compiled a 47-page dossier of these notes, obtained by Axios and reviewed by this outlet. The messages, posted on LinkedIn, internal emails, and personal blogs, paint a portrait of a “toxic work environment” where loyalty to Trump supersedes constitutional obligations, ethical standards, and the rule of law.

Stacey Young, executive director of The Justice Connection, wrote in her own farewell: “DOJ employees are being forced to put loyalty to the President over the Constitution, the rule of law, and their professional ethical obligations.” Young, a 12-year veteran prosecutor, resigned in October 2025 after refusing to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.

Three assistant U.S. attorneys who resisted that directive issued a joint statement: “There is no greater privilege than to work for an institution whose mandate is to do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons. We will not abandon this principle to keep our jobs.”

Anam Rahman Petit, an immigration judge, alleged: “The DOJ is replacing career judges with less experienced or politically malleable ones, reflecting a systemic effort to reshape the bench with individuals more likely to deny cases without regard for due process.”

Former trial attorney Carrie A. Syme posted on LinkedIn: “I do not recognize the current incarnation of the DOJ.” Yet she urged compassion: “Please remember that the vast majority of DOJ attorneys are people of goodwill who are trying to maintain a true sense of justice.”

The Scale of the Exodus

The departures represent a 12% turnover rate, the highest in modern DOJ history, per a Government Accountability Office report. Buyouts under the DOGE initiative (launched February 2025) accounted for 3,200 exits, with 1,500 resignations and 800 firings. The Civil Division lost 28% of staff; the Criminal Division 18%.

Many notes praise the DOJ’s mission but lambast Trump and Bondi for politicization. “The DOJ I joined in 2009 was a beacon of impartial justice,” wrote a 15-year veteran. “Under Bondi, it’s a weapon for the president’s vendettas.”

Trump has long claimed the DOJ was “weaponized” against him, citing the 2016 Russia probe and 2022 Mar-a-Lago search. In October 2025, he demanded $230 million in compensation for those investigations.

Yet his administration has pursued cases against perceived enemies: former FBI Director James Comey, New York AG Letitia James, and even the DOJ itself. A federal judge dismissed the Comey and James indictments, ruling Trump’s acting AG appointment illegal.

The White House threatened retrials. Spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told NewsNation’s Libbey Dean: “The facts of the indictments against Comey and James have not changed, and this will not be the final word on this matter.”

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The exodus risks DOJ dysfunction, with 1,200 unfilled positions delaying cases.