Unease grows at the Justice Department as Trump's threats get even more blunt

"President Trump is openly directing the Justice Department to go after his political adversaries, adding to a sense of unease inside the department about job security and ethical obligations. Even in an era of nonstop social media posts, Trump's weekend update stopped many government attorneys in their tracks. The president said he wanted to see justice served. "We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility," he wrote."

"His post emerged only hours after the top federal prosecutor in northern Virginia left his job under pressure. Erik Siebert had worked closely with Trump's top DOJ leaders this year, but he concluded he could not seek criminal charges the president wanted against James. Now Lindsey Halligan, who had been serving as a special assistant to the president, was sworn in Monday as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, though she has no prosecutorial experience."

President Trump publicly urged the Justice Department to pursue criminal investigations of high-profile critics including Jim Comey, Letitia James, and Adam Schiff. His social-media post followed the pressured departure of the top federal prosecutor in northern Virginia, who concluded he could not bring the charges the president sought. Lindsey Halligan, a former presidential special assistant with no prosecutorial experience, was sworn in as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a Day 1 memo framing Justice Department lawyers as the president's lawyers. Thousands of employees have left through dismissals and forced resignations, and major units like public integrity and the civil rights division have been hollowed out.

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