In a startling revelation published by The New Yorker, a former Department of Justice attorney has come forward with claims of internal pressure, misleading court practices, and ethical dilemmas within the Trump administration’s Justice Department. Erez Reuveni, a career DOJ lawyer, broke his silence after being terminated in April by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
His dismissal followed his admission in federal court that the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia had been a mistake. Reuveni told The New Yorker that during his tenure, he was frequently asked to put aside his professional ethics and sign legal briefs he could not in good conscience support.
He even faced pressure to sign an emergency order to prevent Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S.—a document he says was legally unfounded. “I didn’t sign up to lie,” Reuveni told his superiors when faced with the order. His refusal, he believes, sealed his fate within the department. “I was a dead man walking, in my mind,” he recalled.
Perhaps more concerning were Reuveni’s claims of dishonesty within DOJ courtroom proceedings. At a court hearing in April, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign reportedly told U.S. District Judge James Boasberg that he had “no knowledge” of upcoming deportation flights. Reuveni, who was in the courtroom that day, knew the statement to be false.
A text message from a colleague confirmed Reuveni’s concerns: “[Ensign] knows there are plans for AEA removals within the next 24 hours.” The contradiction between what was said in court and what DOJ officials knew privately underscores what Reuveni described as a troubling pattern during his final months at the department.
“They’re putting attorneys who have dedicated themselves to public service in the impossible position of fealty to the President or fealty to the Constitution—candor to the courts or keeping your head low and lying if asked to do so,” Reuveni told the outlet. “That is not what the Department of Justice that I worked in was about. That’s not why I went to the Department of Justice and stayed there for fifteen years.”
Reuveni’s story casts a harsh spotlight on the politicization of the Justice Department during the Trump administration. As the first DOJ lawyer to publicly challenge deportation policies from within, his account raises serious questions about integrity, accountability, and the pressures faced by career attorneys in a politically charged environment.