A longtime government lawyer told Congress that Justice Department leaders planned to knowingly defy court orders and withhold information from judges to advance the Trump administration's aggressive deportation goals, according to a newly published whistleblower complaint.
The lawyer, Erez Reuveni, previously won awards and commendations over nearly 15 years at the Justice Department, including from Republican appointees in the first Trump administration. But he was put on leave and then fired in April after he told a federal judge an immigrant had been deported in error.
Reuveni ultimately decided to blow the whistle to lawmakers and watchdogs at the Justice Department and the Office of Special Counsel, detailing what he called defiance and noncompliance in three separate immigration cases this year. His accusations add to broader concern about the Trump administration's repeated clashes with the judiciary over immigration and other policies.
"Discouraging clients from engaging in illegal conduct is an important part of the role of a lawyer," his attorneys wrote in the complaint. "Mr. Reuveni tried to do so and was thwarted, threatened, fired, and publicly disparaged for both doing his job and telling the truth to the court."
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