Now is not the time for anonymity

In plain sight, the Justice Department is prioritizing politics over public safety. Those in the know must step out of the shadows and call it like they see it, before it's too late.

Over coffee and doomscrolling this morning, I was heartened to see a CBS News article entitled, “To former prosecutors, everything about the Justice Department interview with Ghislaine Maxwell looked unorthodox.” The headline is obvious enough to legal practitioners, but it is important and valuable for those in the know to share their perspectives with the public. The need for outspoken legal expertise is especially urgent now, as Donald Trump’s Justice Department is rapidly normalizing cronyism, corruption, and political retribution—at the expense of public safety, constitutional rights, and the rule of law.

I’ve been following the Maxwell case closely, because the Department’s recent handling truly defies every norm of federal criminal legal practice. To call Todd Blanche’s warm embrace of a convicted child sex trafficker “unorthodox” is a rather mild way of saying that the Department’s top officials have been swallowed into a political vortex where they have lost all sight of their law enforcement mission. So of course, I was curious to see what my colleagues had to say about it.

The CBS News article began:

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met for a second day with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, without offering more than a broad rationale for his hours of questioning. Multiple former federal prosecutors told CBS News they were bewildered by his decision to launch into such talks and described the unfolding events as both unorthodox and concerning.

As I read the next paragraph, I was surprised to see that the first person quoted in the article was me. I am a former DOJ attorney, yes, and a former federal public defender; but a former prosecutor, no. I kept reading, and was even more surprised to see that I was actually the *only* person quoted by name in the entire piece. Multiple anonymous former DOJ officials described Blanche’s meeting with Maxwell as “unethical,” “not typical,” “a mess” and even “malpractice.” But none of these folks were willing to attach their names to their words.

It’s not that these sentiments are controversial. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a single expert who wouldn’t agree that Blanche’s conduct is atypical, at the very least. So why, then, are former prosecutors hesitating to speak out? Here’s CBS’s explanation:

Like Oyer, many former federal prosecutors saw the meeting as a political move intended to dampen growing mistrust about the decision not to make public the files connected with Epstein's case. Multiple former prosecutors spoke with CBS News about the matter, but asked not to be identified because they feared retribution against them or their current employers.

I’ve genuinely tried to put myself in the shoes of these former colleagues and to understand their fears. But I can’t and I don’t.

I know something of what it’s like to be afraid. I was fearful of retribution (rightly, it turned out) when I decided to speak to The New York Times about my firing. I was downright terrified for my family when I learned that the Department of Justice had deployed armed U.S. Marshals to my home to deliver me a warning. I was no less afraid when I decided to defy their warning and testify before Congress.

The scariest days of my life were the ones when I was searching for legal representation. My spouse and I each spent two straight days on the phone calling everyone in our network. Over the course of a weekend, over a dozen lawyers and law firms turned down my plea for help. I have never felt more vulnerable and alone. My colleagues offered me their sincere gratitude for standing up to injustice. They volunteered whatever help they could give “behind the scenes.” And then they vanished into the shadows.

I was not ok that weekend, but I’ve since learned that it’s ok to be afraid. The way to conquer fear is not to squash it; it’s to make peace with it. Every time I post a new video on Instagram, or read the comments on my TikToks, I feel anxious and exposed. I am reminded that it would be so much easier to stay silent. But I keep going, because I am more afraid of what will happen if I stop.

I cannot imagine that anyone who has ever worked in the Department of Justice fails to see that generational damage is being done by its current leadership. Institutional safeguards have been systematically dismantled. The tools of justice are being ransacked for political gain. The legitimacy and credibility of the institution are diminishing before our eyes.

Those in the legal profession are facing hard and often costly choices at the moment. This is not a lecture or a judgment. It is a sincere plea to my colleagues to look beyond the short-term costs of standing up and speaking out, and to consider the longer-term consequences of staying in the shadows and bearing witness silently. If you are alarmed by the damage that has been done in just six months—if you are afraid of where we may be in year—please consider sharing your name, showing your face, and voicing your concerns.