Justice Department lawyers who have angered President-elect Trump and his allies face tough decisions about whether to stay in government—and how to protect themselves from threats of retribution after Inauguration Day. Dozens of prosecutors and agents have worked on cases that potentially make them vulnerable, such as special counsel investigations of Trump, prosecutions of hundreds of his supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and contempt-of Congress cases that sent Trump associates Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro to prison. Law firms have seen an unprecedented flood of résumés from DOJ lawyers looking for the exits, the Wall Street Journal reports. While presidential transitions always upend the ranks of political appointees, “now, it’s seeping into a lot of career people,” said Steve Nelson, a legal recruiter. “The number of people leaving, or looking at opportunities outside the Justice Department or elsewhere in the government, is way higher than it’s ever been before."
There aren’t enough major landing spots for all the attorneys seeking private practice. Some who sent out résumés have since decided to stay, unwilling or unable to give up their dream government jobs right away. Some of special counsel Jack Smith's are expected to leave. Since Trump’s election, a loose network of sympathetic lawyers has formed to defend Smith’s team and other officials who may face scrutiny from the Trump administration. Attorneys started calling friends and colleagues in the weeks after Trump was re-elected to see who would be willing to volunteer. Civil service rules offer career employees some protection against being fired, and some lawyers see the chances of them being dismissed—or even prosecuted—as remote. “We can’t fall down before we get hit. We can’t be hysterical,” said William Taylor, a defense lawyer familiar with efforts to recruit attorneys for government officials. “They’re going to make life unpleasant for some people, but actual consequences to people are really unlikely.”
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