Organizations and Resources for DOJ Personnel Affected by Trump Administration Actions (2/5/25)

I assume that all DOJ Tax Alumni have heard at least some news about the Trump Administration's initial forays into the DOJ iteration of the “deep state.” From the news reports, I infer that there will be action (perhaps retribution) against DOJ attorneys (and perhaps nonattorney personnel) for any activity that affected President Trump in a way that he or his DOJ appointees believe was inappropriate. (My experience is that most criminals think their investigations and prosecutions were inappropriate.)

The purpose of this blog is to post information about projects that support DOJ employees and help them get past this Trump adventure.

1. Protect Democracy, here. Offering the following resources:

• Supporting and Defending the Constitution: A DOJ attorneys guide to upholding ethical obligations and the rule of law, here, with a related web page titled The DOJ attorneys guide to Trump’s Washington (1/16/25), here.
• Protect Democracy’s series on resources for civil servants, Dear Civil Servant, part of PD’s If You Can Keep It newsletter, here.

2. Civil Service Strong, here, with regular updates and with a Resources page, here. Civil Service Strong describes itself:

People, organizations, and communities across the country are joining together to ensure our civil servants have resources if they are targeted or attacked. Alongside the 95% of people who believe civil servants should be hired and promoted based on their merit rather than their political beliefs, we are committed to supporting a career, non-partisan civil service and the people who power it. 

3. Government Accountability Project’s Guide titled  “Truth-Telling in Government: A Guide to Whistleblowing for Federal Employees, Contractors, & Grantees”, here. The Government Accountability Project’s purpose is here.

4. Justice Connection, here, a new organization of DOJ alumni working to support DOJ employees; there is a survey for those DOJ Alumni willing to help, here. See NYT article here. Justice Connections states its purpose and aims in a What We'll Do page, here which states:

We are Mobilizing DOJ's Alumni to Protect the Department's Workforce

Justice Connection is moving as quickly as we can to build a network of DOJ alumni who will provide employees with practical support, including:

• Legal services in connection with employees’ current or past official position
• Help to employees who’ve been doxed or harassed online
• Whistleblowing guidance
• Job-search assistance for those who feel like they need to leave the Department, or are forced out

We’ll also stand up for DOJ employees and combat the pernicious “deep state” narrative in Congress, and in the public square. And we’ll be responsive to DOJ employees’ evolving needs in the coming days, weeks, and months.

My principal source for these links is an email dated 2/3/25 from Kristy Parker, here, Special Counsel Defending the Rule of Law of Protect Democracy who has a large email list of former DOJ attorneys (and perhaps nonattorney personnel as well). I have received emails from her before on matters of interest to DOJ Alumni.

If there are any other organizations that may be of interest to DOJ Alumni that should be listed, I would appreciate readers letting me know in a comment to this blog entry to by email to jack@tjtaxlaw.com. As I receive new information I feel is important, I will likely revise this entry.  Keep in mind that the purpose of the blog entry is to communicate information and not pick any side in the underlying political issues behind the Trump Administration's actions. I am not saying that those actions are right or wrong; I simply want to provide information that may be helpful to DOJ Tax Alumni if they are affected by those actions. Any reader submitting information should provide a short description to help me and, if I include in the blog, other Alumni understand what the organization does for DOJ employees (either current or terminated after President Trump was sworn in as president).