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Trump DOJ Plotting to Parachute In Prosecutors Across US to Bring Cases Against Anti-ICE Protesters
"Feel like this isn't gonna work out well," one legal expert said in response to the leaked DOJ plan.
Feb 03, 2026
The US Department of Justice is reportedly setting up a new program that would create a team of prosecutors who can parachute into different areas throughout the country to bring charges against protesters who have allegedly assaulted or obstructed law enforcement officers.
As reported by Bloomberg on Tuesday, a Department of Justice (DOJ) memo mandates that US attorney's offices designate some of their staff members to serve on "emergency jump teams" that can surge into areas on short notice to prosecute cases.
"A senior official instructed leaders of the nation's 93 US attorney’s offices... that they have until February 6 to designate one or two assistant US attorneys," reported Bloomberg, "who’d be available for short-term surges in unspecified areas needing 'urgent assistance due to emergent or critical situations.'"
The effort to create "jump teams" of lawyers comes as the US Attorney's Office in Minnesota has been hit with a wave of resignations in the wake of the federal government's surge of federal immigration enforcement agents into the state.
According to a Monday report from the Minnesota Star Tribune, 14 lawyers at the Minnesota US Attorney's Office have either already resigned or announced their intention to resign in just the last month, an unprecedented number of departures in such a short period of time.
Bloomberg writes that the "jump team" plan "signals the Trump administration’s attempt to offset career prosecutor attrition... with a nationwide pool of reinforcements on standby."
The plan was potentially telegraphed by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller on Saturday, when he put out a call on social media for more attorneys to come work for the Trump administration.
"If you want to combat fraud, crime and illegal immigration, reach out," Miller wrote. "Patriots needed."
Attorney Ken White, a former federal prosecutor, speculated on Sunday that Miller's call reflected "real internal problems" at the DOJ, and he predicted that one solution the administration could try would be to create a mobile legal strike force much like the one outlined in the leaked DOJ memo.
However, White argued that this approach would be far from a magic bullet to solve the administration's staffing woes.
"The impediments will be these: They will get dregs who will do a bad job," White wrote. "Federal prosecution is not rocket science but federal judges do have notably higher standards than state judges and if you MAGA your way around federal court you will get your ass handed to you."
Jonathan Booth, a law professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, also predicted that the administration's strike force plan would run into some major speed bumps.
"Imagine, you're a federal prosecutor in San Diego," he wrote in a social media post. "It's sunny, warm, you have a whole set of important cases. Then suddenly 'we need you to go to Buffalo and prosecute extremely weak misdemeanor cases.' Feel like this isn't gonna work out well."
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Calls to Impeach Bondi Mount After Nude Photos of Possible Victims Released in Epstein Files
Rep. Yassamin Ansari ripped the Justice Department's "indefensible and horrifying disregard for the victims," and stressed that "rich and powerful men continue to evade accountability for their heinous crimes."
Feb 02, 2026
Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari on Sunday called for the impeachment of US Attorney General Pam Bondi after the Department of Justice published dozens of unredacted nude photos of young women or teenagers as part of its legally required release of files related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The DOJ released the final batch of documents on Friday, well beyond the December 19 deadline established by the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Although President Donald Trump signed the law, his ties to the late billionaire and heavy redactions of previously released records have fueled concerns about the process.
While reviewing the more than 3 million pages published last week, New York Times journalists found "nearly 40 unredacted images" of "nude bodies and the faces of the people portrayed," the newspaper reported. "The people in the photos appeared to be young, although it was unclear whether they were minors. Some of the images seemed to show Mr. Epstein's private island, including a beach. Others were taken in bedrooms and other private spaces."
The paper continued:
The Times notified the Justice Department on Saturday of nude images that journalists had encountered and flagged more of them on Sunday. A spokeswoman said that the department was "working around the clock to address any victim concerns, additional redactions of personally identifiable information, as well as any files that require further redactions under the act, to include images of a sexual nature."
"Once proper redactions have been made, any responsive documents will repopulate online," the spokeswoman said.
Officials have largely removed or redacted the images that the Times flagged for them. The images appeared to show at least seven different people, although the Times did not seek to identify them.
Flagging the report on social media late Sunday, Ansari (D-Ariz.) declared that "this is an indefensible and horrifying disregard for the victims by Trump's US Department of Justice. They are still withholding the full Epstein Files, and rich and powerful men continue to evade accountability for their heinous crimes. Attorney General Pam Bondi should be impeached."
Even before the nude photos were discovered, progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) similarly called for Bondi's impeachment on Friday, pointing to not only her DOJ's handling of the Epstein files, but also its efforts to force Minnesota to turn over voter data and the arrest of journalists, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon.
Since Friday, survivors of Epstein's abuse have also slammed the DOJ, with 18 of them saying in a joint statement that the latest release "is being sold as transparency, but what it actually does is expose survivors. Once again, survivors are having their names and identifying information exposed, while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected. That is outrageous."
“As survivors, we should never be the ones named, scrutinized, and retraumatized while Epstein's enablers continue to benefit from secrecy. This is a betrayal of the very people this process is supposed to serve," they continued. "This is not over. We will not stop until the truth is fully revealed and every perpetrator is finally held accountable."
CNN reported Monday that lawyers Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards requested "immediate judicial intervention" by US Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer to address at least "thousands of redaction failures on behalf of nearly 100 individual survivors whose lives have been turned upside down by DOJ's latest release."
"There is no conceivable degree of institutional incompetence sufficient to explain the scale, consistency, and persistence of the failures that occurred—particularly where the sole task ordered by the court and repeatedly emphasized by DOJ was simple: Redact known victim names before publication," the attorneys wrote.
While the DOJ didn't reply to the outlet's request for comment, Henderson said in a statement to CNN that "with every second that passes, additional harm is being caused to these women. They are scared, they are devastated, and they are begging for our government to protect them from further harm."
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From Arresting Journalists to Epstein Cover-Up, AOC Says 'Bondi Should Be Up for Impeachment Too'
Another House Democrat ripped President Donald Trump and his Justice Department for making clear that "they intend to withhold roughly 50% of the Epstein files, while claiming to have fully complied with the law."
Jan 30, 2026
US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Friday that Attorney General Pam Bondi should be facing impeachment, pointing to the top Justice Department official's handling of the Epstein files, efforts to force Minnesota to hand over its voter data, and arrest of journalists including former CNN anchor Don Lemon.
Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) made the call in response to Bondi's Friday morning announcement that Lemon, independent journalist Georgia Fort, and two others were arrested in connection with a protest at a Minnesota church earlier this month.
"Between this, Epstein, and her attempted extortion of MN voter files, Bondi should be up for impeachment too," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on social media, alluding to the ongoing effort to oust Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Following the arrests of Lemon and others, the Justice Department announced the release of more than 3 million pages of documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—more than a month after the passage of a deadline established by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Donald Trump signed in November.
But the latest disclosure did not satisfy the lawmakers leading the push for full transparency. The Justice Department indicated Friday that it only released around half of the Epstein documents subject to review.
“Donald Trump and his Department of Justice have now made it clear that they intend to withhold roughly 50% of the Epstein files, while claiming to have fully complied with the law. This is outrageous and incredibly concerning," said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. "The Oversight Committee subpoena directs Pam Bondi to release all the files to the committee, while protecting survivors. They are in violation of the law."
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who floated impeachment proceedings against Bondi last month, said in a statement that he will be "reviewing closely to see if they release what I’ve been pushing for: the FBI 302 victim interview statements, a draft indictment and prosecution memorandum prepared during the 2007 Florida investigation, and hundreds of thousands of emails and files from Epstein’s computers."
"Failing to release these files only shields the powerful individuals who were involved and hurts the public’s trust in our institutions," said Khanna, the author of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
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