Federal judges across the country say the Trump administration has lost the confidence of courts, complaining that the "presumption of regularity"—the traditional trust that the government is acting in good faith—has been "dislodged," "destroyed," and "undeniably eroded."
The warnings come amid the Trump administration's radical makeover of the Department of Justice (DOJ), which has seen the exodus of hundreds of career attorneys and the elevation of others based largely on loyalty to the president. This has led to a noticeable decline in the quality of court filings by the DOJ, repeated instances of its attorneys being threatened with sanctions, and an end to the department's traditionally near-perfect record in high-profile prosecutions.
