Ex-DOJ attorneys are running for office — some to fight Trump policies
Ryan Crosswell's campaign for a U.S. House seat features the hallmarks of many traditional political operations. His website shows him in shirtsleeves talking about his military service and growing up in a coal town. His campaign video features images of the nearby Pennsylvania community of Pottsville, festooned in red, white and blue bunting. His campaign advisers circulate copies of a political advocacy group's endorsement. Crosswell talks about knocking on doors and meeting voters, one of whom Crosswell said is "struggling and may need to sell her house." But, unlike many congressional candidates, Crosswell has no campaign experience and has never worked in politics. He's one of several former Justice Department attorneys and officials seeking public office after resigning from an agency they say has been contaminated by politics. Among the wave of resignations and firings of Justice Department prosecutors, administrators and career staffers who have resigned or been fired in the first six months of President Trump's second term, some want to resume public service, and now they're exploring different avenues to achieve that. Crosswell, a longtime federal prosecutor, resigned from the Justice Department on Feb. 17, in protest of the controversial department decision todropthe criminal corruption case againstNew York Mayor Eric Adamsand a purge of the agency's public integrity division. He has criticized the Justice Department's reductions in its anti-corruption offices. "What the administration has done is removed one of the most important guardrails against corruption within the government at all levels: state, local and federal," Croswell told CBS News. "We're now moving into an area where prosecutions would be determined by political loyalty," he said. Crosswell's race is also uniquely important. He's running for the Democratic nomination in one of the most competitive and high-impact House races in the country, Pennsylvania's 7th District, whichflippedfrom Democratic to Republican in 2024. Crosswell has already raised more than $300,000 since announcing his candidacy in June, while the incumbent Republican, Rep. Ryan MacKenzie, has raised over $1.4 million this year. It's a big change for a longtime career prosecutor, who just months ago was credited by the Justice Department with helping secure the conviction of a former New Mexico state political candidate who'd gone on a shooting spree that targeted the homes of four elected officials. Croswell, a Marine reservist, is leaning into his biography during his campaign. He told CBS News, "If you're a Marine and you're a former prosecutor, you are protecting people." Some of his former colleagues are also seeking elected office, and like Crosswell, none have elected experience or a political background, but all of them are openly criticizing recent changes in the Justice Department and talking about why they chose to exit their careers as career prosecutors. "It was my dream job" Erika Evans quit her Justice Department position in March, leaving what she said was her dream job. She's now seeking the Democratic nomination for the office of city attorney in Seattle. Speaking with CBS News by phone between campaign stops in Seattle, Evans said, "The polls are in our favor, and we're feeling good about that." She's the granddaughter of civil rights figure Lee Evans, who was among the 1968 Olympics track stars who raised a fist in the air during a medal presentation. Evans told CBS News the Trump administration's dismantling of the Justice Department's Civil Rights division was among her motivations for leaving. "We received emails requiring that we report any colleagues doing diversity work in the office. We had 10 to 14 days to report them or we would get in trouble ourselves," Evans said. "That was pretty disgusting." She said she didn't feel safe at the agency, in part because she was the co-chair of adiversity effort. In a campaign video, Evans pledged to challenge Mr. Trump: "With your vote, I'll take on Trump and demand the community safety we deserve." And her campaign materials also promote Evans' work on civil rights issues. "I have only worked in public service my entire career. That's the reason why I became a lawyer — to represent and serve my community," Evans said. "When I realized that that was not going to be possible any longer with the values that the Trump administration was having for the department, I knew I needed to shift." She said her public criticism of the recent changes in the Justice Department is resonating with voters. "We've spoken with thousands of voters and we have been knocking on thousands of doors," she said. "It's been really comforting to hear from our voters who say 'You are so brave to step out and speak out against this.'" The Seattle primaries are Tuesday. If Evans wins enough votes, she'd proceed to a general election in November. "It really weighed on my heart" Hetal Doshi rose through the ranks of the Justice Department over more than a decade of service, including as deputy assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division. She left in January, when Mr. Trump was sworn in, and is now seeking her first elected office as a candidate in next year's election for Colorado attorney general. Doshi told CBS News the recent changes at the agency "really weighed on my heart and on my mind." "State attorneys general are more important than ever before, in filling an enforcement vacuum," she said. "That's why I made the decision to run for office." "I faced a lot of complicated feelings about my exit," Doshi said, "and that complexity was coming from the fact that I loved what I did on behalf of the American people so much." Despite her lack of campaign experience, Doshi touted robust early fundraising and a statewide campaign infrastructure as she pursues the Democratic nomination for the post. Doshi's campaign materials, including an introductory video, emphasize she's a first-generation American from a working-class family. Her campaign website includes a video in which Doshi takes aim at Mr. Trump, saying, "The rule of law is under attack by Donald Trump and politicians who have abandoned patriotism." The video includes images of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump surrogate Jeanine Pirro, who was just confirmed as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. "It's hard to watch the dismantling of the norms and traditions of the Department of Justice," Doshi said in a phone interview with CBS News. The Justice Department declined a request to comment on Doshi, Crosswell or Evans and their criticism of recent agency changes. Doshi's campaign lists several of her Justice Department accomplishments and promotes her record. Her campaign materials highlight her federal case work in challenging an airline merger, big tech mergers, concert ticket pricing and a case she said would have impacted grocery prices. "I feel much more comfortable in a courtroom than any other place," Doshi admitted, but she says campaigning is a form of public advocacy that mirrors her work as a government attorney. "It's normally pretty rare for career DOJ attorneys to run for office. They actively steer clear of partisanship at the department," said Stacey Young, a former Justice Department attorney who leads the Justice Connection, a networking organization to help former Justice Department employees who have resigned or been fired. "It makes perfect sense that for some, serving through elected office, outside the president's chain of command, is a viable alternative," Young added. "I was just reading the tea leaves" Victor Salgado said he decided on Election night last year he'd prepare to leave his job as an attorney in the Public Integrity division of the Justice Department. He soon began pursuing the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of Virginia. His campaign and his effort won just about 5% of the vote in the June primary.That was not enough to advance to the November general election,but he still did better than he had expected. Salgado told CBS News he decided to leave before the expected shakeup inside the Justice Department. "I was just reading tea leaves on the type of people that had been close to Mr. Trump, and the people who would eventually come to run the Department of Justice," he said. "I handicapped it at 90% that within the near future of January 20, the Public Integrity section will be dismantled." There were a series of ousters in the agency's public integrity section within the first two months of the Trump administration. Salgado enjoyed a storied career at the Justice Department, including an agency award for his work on a major cryptocurrency investigation, which led to a CEO's guilty plea in 2023. The department also credited Salgado with "substantial contributions" to the successful prosecution of former Rep. George Santos, a New York Republican who wasexpelledfrom Congress, pleaded guilty to fraud and beganservinga prison sentence last month. Salgado said he emphasized his Justice Department work during his brief campaign, and as he met with voters and made campaign stops, he referenced the controversies involving the Trump's administration's use of law enforcement in immigration enforcement. He said the role of political candidate is challenging for career prosecutors. "We are not partisan, especially as corruption prosecutors," he said. "Of course, we have political opinions, but all of those get checked at the door." Crosswell's race could become one of the most expensive and highest profile in the nation. He moved back to Pennsylvania, where he grew up, just about 45 minutes outside of Allentown. In a sign he's cemented his position as a frontline Democratic political candidate, Crosswell is receiving strong criticism from the National Republican Congressional Committee. "Carpetbagging Ryan Crosswell parachuted into the Lehigh Valley after working in Biden's corrupt DOJ. Pennsylvanians took out the trash last November when they elected Rep. Ryan Mackenzie and President Trump, and they're not looking back," an NRCC spokeswoman said in a statement. Black swimmers teach others amid history of aquatic segregation How safe is our Social Security safety net? 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Ex-DOJ attorneys are running for office — some to fight Trump policies Ryan Crosswell's campaign for a U.S. House seat features the hall...
