DOJ veterans accuse Trump administration of gutting civil rights division

More than 200 former Justice Department staff have issued a blistering open letter warning that the Trump administration has “destroyed” the DOJ’s civil rights division, triggering what they describe as a mass exodus of attorneys and a collapse of the unit’s core mission.

The letter, published Tuesday, accuses the administration of flipping the division’s purpose on its head.

“Every election brought changes, but the fundamental mission of our work remained the same,” it reads. “But after witnessing this Administration destroy much of our work, we made the heartbreaking decision to leave, along with hundreds of colleagues, including about 75 percent of attorneys.”

Historically, the civil rights arm, founded in 1957 to dismantle segregation during the Jim Crow era, has policed housing discrimination, protected voting rights, and investigated systemic policing abuses. Under Trump, the signatories argue, policy shifted from investigating rights violations to advancing outcomes aligned with his political priorities.

“Rather than rigorously evaluating the evidence to pursue only the most egregious cases, they demanded that we find facts to fit the Administration’s predetermined outcomes,” the letter states.

It cites dropped lawsuits on Georgia voting restrictions and alleged abuse of migrant children, and reports that police oversight findings have been softened or reversed.

Critics say the trend reflects a broader ideological reorientation, where efforts to address racial inequality are recast as bias against white Americans. Supporters of the administration argue the DOJ needed to re-balance its priorities, though the department has not commented publicly on the letter.