Ex-employees of US Justice Department blast 'destruction' of civil rights unit
Source: Reuters
December 9, 2025 10:19 AM EST Updated 3 hours ago
WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - More than 200 former employees of the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday criticized what they called the ongoing "destruction" of its Civil Rights Division, saying President Donald Trump's administration has abandoned its mission of protecting vulnerable Americans.
In an open letter on the 68th anniversary of the division's creation, they alleged that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon have killed important cases intended to protect people from sexual harassment and assault, police brutality and voting inequities. They also accused leadership of changing how civil rights investigations are conducted by demanding they "find facts to fit the Administration's pre-determined outcomes."
"Most of us planned to stay at the division following the 2024 election. But after witnessing this Administration destroy much of our work, we made the heartbreaking decision to leave," they wrote in the letter, which was published by Justice Connection - an advocacy group for DOJ employees founded by a former division attorney. "Now, we must sound the alarm about the near destruction of DOJ’s once-revered crown jewel."
The Civil Rights Division was established by the 1957 Civil Rights Act. The law was originally enacted to help undo discriminatory Jim Crow segregation and protect the voting rights of Black people. The Justice Department has said it is carrying out the agenda that Trump was elected to perform. A spokesperson in September said that the Civil Rights Division has been "restored to its original mission of protecting the constitutional rights of all Americans, instead of pursuing a targeted political agenda against administration opponents."
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/ex-employees-us-justice-department-blast-destruction-civil-rights-unit-2025-12-09/
Link to LETTER (PDF) - https://www.thejusticeconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Civil-Rights-Division-Sign-On-Letter.pdf
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They have turned the entire office inside out. 