Justice Connection, a group of former Justice Department attorneys, has launched a support program for FBI employees called the FBI Support Network, offering a tipline for agents to alert Justice Connection about heavy-handed or politicized orders.

Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection, said denaturalization cases require a huge expenditure of time and resources, adding that recent plans for escalation are unprecedented and will require immense work from lawyers already stretched thin.

Former agents set up a group to help those struggling under new FBI leadership. The group is part of Justice Connection, which has been offering similar assistance to Justice Department employees.

The FBI Support Network aims to provide legal assistance, emotional support and career services. It is an outgrowth of Justice Connection, a similar support network for Justice Department alumni.

A group of former FBI employees is launching a nonprofit to aid those caught in the crosshairs of what they call the agency's retribution campaign. The network is housed by the Justice Connection.

Justice Connection board member Andrew C. Mergen said the pattern of judges accusing department lawyers of dishonesty is an extraordinarily awful look for the Justice Department.

The FBI Support Network is an offshoot of Justice Connection, made up of former Justice Department employees who offer legal, mental health or job search services to current agency employees.

Justice Connection board member Andrew Mergen, who spent more than 30 years at the Justice Department, called the departure of legal talent a remarkable shift out of federal government.

Grant Hermes sits down with Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection, for a frank conversation about the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, the erosion of institutional trust, and what rebuilding the DOJ might actually look like.

A government of laws, not men — that was the message illuminated across the side of the US Department of Justice in Washington DC in protest of the Trump anti-weaponization fund.

In protest of the Anti-Weaponization Fund, Justice Connection invoked John Adams: 'A Government of Laws, Not Men.'

Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection, condemned the creation of a $1.776 billion compensation fund for individuals who allege they were wronged by the government, calling it an extraordinary abuse of power and a sign the rule of law is crumbling.

Jennifer Ricketts, a former DOJ branch director and Justice Connection advisory member, said she had never heard of the department granting blanket immunity, calling it blatantly corrupt.

Stacey Young said that until this administration, career attorneys were expected to drop a case when an investigation revealed no crime occurred. Now, those who refuse to pursue charges are pushed aside and replaced with loyalists.

Justice Connection projected a quote from John Adams on the DOJ building, warning that it is not just the President who gets to decide who gets prosecuted — it is laws, judges, and juries.

Protestors projected the John Adams quote on DOJ headquarters overnight, as outrage grew over the settlement that bars the government from pursuing certain legal claims against the president and his family.

Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection, told NBC News the $1.8 billion slush fund was appalling, saying the organization was standing up for the department's integrity and the rule of law.

Stacey Young, who leads Justice Connection, noted that when the president sues the executive branch, he is in effect suing himself.

Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection, said the fund fit a larger pattern of corruption eroding DOJ's integrity and Americans' faith in the rule of law.

Stacey Young, executive director of Justice Connection, said the Anti-Weaponization Fund fits a pattern of corruption eroding DOJ's integrity and Americans' faith in the rule of law.

Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection, said Patel's Hawaii trip fits a pattern of the director getting tangled up in unseemly distractions instead of staying laser-focused on keeping Americans safe.

Stacey Young joins a Stanford Law panel moderated by Professor Pam Karlan for a discussion of public service, prosecutorial independence, and the difficult questions of when to stay, leave, or speak out.

Stacey Young, who founded Justice Connection, said the trip fits a pattern of Director Patel getting tangled up in unseemly distractions at a site commemorating the second deadliest attack in U.S. history.

Stacey Young of Justice Connection said that until this administration, prosecutors were expected to drop a case when no crime was found. Now those who refuse to pursue charges are pushed aside and replaced with loyalists.

Justice Connection estimates that around 5,500 people have left the department — either by quitting, transfer, accepting a buyout, or being fired. The appellate section alone has reportedly lost over 40% of its attorneys since February 2025.

A Justice Connection report showed the number of attorneys who have left the DOJ since January has topped 3,400 — about a quarter of lawyers inside the department, according to executive director Stacey Young.

Stacey Young said the prosecution sends a clear message: if you want to be spared, shut up. Young now runs Justice Connection, which combats threats to the rule of law under the Trump administration.

Justice Connection estimates that more than 230 lawyers, agents and other employees from across the department were fired, apparently because of their work on assigned cases, past criticism of Trump, or for no reason at all.

Stacey Young said long-term prosecutors are resigning because they are refusing to go along with vindictive prosecutions. Justice Connection estimated that around 5,500 people had left the department.

Stacey Young, executive director of Justice Connection, said at least 158 termination letters delivered to DOJ career employees cited Article II as the basis for the decision.

Stacey Young, who leads Justice Connection, told Reuters the administration talks a big game on crime but is hollowing out the agencies tasked with addressing it.

Stacey Young, who leads Justice Connection, said the administration is hollowing out agencies tasked with addressing crime and terrorism while talking a big game about public safety.

Stacey Young, executive director of Justice Connection, said DOJ lawyers have lost credibility in the courts after ignoring court orders, misrepresenting facts, and making arguments with no basis in the law.

Statistics from Justice Connection suggest that at one point, 75% of the attorneys who were at the Civil Rights Division as of 2024 had left — fired, resigned, or taken the DOGE deferred resignation offer.

Stacey Young criticized the firings of DOJ attorneys who enforced the FACE Act, calling it unconscionable and saying it politicizes the department's enforcement actions.

Stacey Young described the FACE Act firings as the latest instance of the Trump administration subverting the mission and intent of the Justice Department while claiming to rid itself of political interference.

Stacey Young, who worked as a senior attorney at the DOJ over 18 years, said when political leaders come in and immediately begin purging people who know how to run things, it has a really destabilizing effect.

Justice Connection advisor Greg Brower, a former U.S. attorney in Nevada, noted the difficulty the department is having in keeping and recruiting people.

Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection, said firing DOJ attorneys for zealously enforcing the FACE Act is unconscionable and punishes dedicated civil servants for doing their jobs.

Justice Connection denounced the firings, with Stacey Young saying DOJ's current leaders' cruelty and hypocrisy are on full display, insisting on zealous advocacy for the president's priorities while firing those who did the same for prior leadership.

Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection, denounced the firings and said Congress passed the FACE Act with bipartisan support, and courts have consistently upheld the constitutionality of its provisions.

Stacey Young of Justice Connection denounced the firings as the latest instance of the Trump administration subverting DOJ's mission while claiming to rid itself of political interference.