The Trump administration has taken a wrecking ball to the Justice Department, dismantling the traditional barrier between prosecutorial independence and partisan politics. Career prosecutors have retired or resigned rather than compromise their integrity. Judges have complained about Justice Department lawyers’ shoddy work and accused them of defying court orders and engaging in unprofessional conduct. Restoring the department’s integrity and public confidence after President Donald Trump leaves office will require not just rebuilding. It will require fundamental reimagining. Simply returning to business as usual will not safeguard the Justice Department from future abuses. Now that Trump has shown how an executive can abuse its power, we need to take affirmative steps to prevent a repeat performance. In just a year, the department has become unrecognizable to those of us who devoted our legal careers to its service. Attorney General Pam Bondi has transformed it from an agency that pursues justice without fear or favor into an instrument of Trump’s retribution. In a combative and defiant appearance before the House Judiciary Committee this month, Bondi complained that “liberal acti
