AMNA NAWAZ: Shortly after she was confirmed,# Attorney General Pam Bondi told lawyers at the## Department of Justice that it was their# job to -- quote -- "zealously advance,## protect and defend the policies of the# United States as set by the president."

It was an early example of the ways in# which the Trump administration has sought## to transform the DOJ into the president's tool for# promoting his agenda and challenging detractors.

Justice correspondent Ali Rogin and the "News# Hour" politics team have been reviewing the## events of the past year to better understand# how this transformation is playing out.

And Ali joins me now.

So, Ali, we know a big part of this story is the## number of attorneys who've left# the DOJ.

What have you found?

ALI ROGIN: Yes, Amna, since last January, the DOJ# work force has fallen by about 8 percent, which## represents about 9,000 employees.

About a# fifth of that were people who accepted the## DOGE offer at the beginning of the# administration to retire or leave.

But if you look at this chart of total# DOJ staffing changes by fiscal year,## they're usually not that drastic.# They increase a little one year,## they decrease a little the next year.

But then,# in fiscal year 2025, there is a significant drop.

AMNA NAWAZ: So what should we understand# about that?

Why are people leaving?

ALI ROGIN: Yes, I have spoken to a number of# attorneys who have served in both Democratic## and Republican administrations, many of them# including the first Trump administration.

And they say that it is normal for policy# priorities in the Department of Justice to## change, depending on who's in office,# what party.

That's even what was done## in the first Trump administration.

But# they say this time is very different,## and Attorney General Bondi seems to be taking# directions directly from President Trump.

These attorneys have many different reasons# for leaving.

Some of them were motivated by## the dismissal of some prosecutors who worked on# January 6 cases.

Others left after the prosecution## of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, after he was wrongly# deported.

Some lawyers have quit in response to## the DOJ's hands-off approach to the immigration# actions we're seeing across the country.

In Minnesota, a group of attorneys# quit after the DOJ declined to## prosecute the ICE agent who shot# and killed Renee Good.

And also,## Amna, we have seen the DOJ decimate or# completely eliminate entire offices.

AMNA NAWAZ: What does all this# mean for the work of the DOJ,## their ability to investigate and prosecute cases?

ALI ROGIN: Well, one of the things it means# is that attorneys are stretched thinner and## people are prosecuting cases on which they# have little to no subject matter expertise.

In fact, in Minnesota, one of the prosecutors# who resigned was actually leading many of the## social services fraud cases that had# initially drawn the attention of the## Trump administration to this# state.

Another benchmark I'm## tracking is the failures to return# indictments before grand juries.

The bars for returning indictments# is relatively low.

They have to find## probable cause that an offense took place.# And it doesn't need to be unanimous.

Amna,## there's an old saying here that you could# indict a ham sandwich.

And that's why,## in recent years, the DOJ has# pursued more than 100,000 cases.

And in most years that we have data for,# they have only failed to get a no true bill,## which is what failure to indict is# known as, in a handful of cases.

But in this DOJ, one official told me, former# official, said there was a shockingly high## number of no true bills, notable cases, include# two failed attempts to indict New York Attorney## General Letitia James, the case against the# so-called sandwich guy involving a man who## threw a sandwich at a federal agent, and more# recently, last week, six lawmakers who taped a## video saying that service members did not have# to obey illegal orders from the president.

AMNA NAWAZ: What are we hearing,# meanwhile, and seeing from the## leaders inside DOJ?

We have seen allegations# of retribution.

Are we seeing that action?

ALI ROGIN: We're hearing some of it.

In November, Deputy Attorney General# Todd Blanc.. against judges.

And the Justice Department# is also trying reportedly to impeach judges## that they consider obstructive.

And for# context, since 1803, there have been 15## impeachments of judges, and eight of them# have resulted in conviction and removal.

The DOJ has also taken the unusual step# of overriding some judges' choices for## people to serve as U.S.

attorney# if no one's been Senate-confirmed## to those positions.

This happened# in New Jersey, where judges picked## a prosecutor.

The DOJ overruled them and# installed Trump's personal lawyer, Alina Habba.

Or, recently, it happened in New York, where# judges appointed a veteran prosecutor.

And## then a few hours later, Todd Blanche# tweeted that the man had been fired.

And, Amna, we reached out to the# Department of Justice with a list## of questions about all of this.

They have not# yet responded, but we will update if they do.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right, that's our# justice correspondent, Ali Rogin.

Ali, thank you.

ALI ROGIN: You bet.