U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks to the media as U.S. President Donald Trump listens, after the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the power of federal judges by restricting their ability to grant broad legal relief in cases as the justices acted in a legal fight over President Donald Trump's bid to limit birthright citizenship, in the Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington D.C., June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

President Donald Trump's second term could be doing "potentially irreversible damage" to the federal government, according to a trove of notes left by departing employees, Axios reports.

The Justice Connection, a network of former Department of Justice and FBI staffers, has been collecting various messages, notes and letters left behind by federal employees departing or let go by the Department of Justice under the Trump administration. Per the Axios report, the messages warn of "collapsing ethics, corrosive pressure and a toxic workplace" as the president places more and more demands on the Justice Department. Stacey Young, executive director for Justice Connection, warned that staffers are "being asked to put loyalty to the president over the Constitution, the rule of law, and their professional ethical obligations.”

In a post to LinkedIn from March collected by Justice Connection, for DOJ trial attorney Carrie A. Syme explained her departure and stressed that good people still employed at the agency were doing their best under worsening circumstances.

"I will not... serve this current incarnation of the Department. It defines 'justice' in a way that I do not recognize," Syme wrote. "But please remember that the vast majority of DOJ attorneys are people of good will who are trying to maintain a true sense of justice. What's more, they're doing it while being subjected to unimaginably stressful circumstances, if not outright cruelty. Whether these people are your friends, your family members, or even your adversaries, please — even if silently — take a moment to thank them for their continued service."

Devon Flanagan, a former trial attorney in the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section, predicted in his message that things will worsen as more federal workers "find these stressful and demeaning conditions untenable."

Three assistant U.S. attorneys co-authored another message collected by Justice Connection after they resigned rather than go along with the Trump administration's plan to dismiss the case against outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

"There is no greater privilege than to work for an institution whose mandate is to do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons," they wrote. "We will not abandon this principle to keep our jobs."

Other employees were terminated from their jobs as opposed to resigning. Anam Rahman Petit, one of many immigration judges targeted by the administration, said she was terminated without explanation, and said in a departing message that the staffing changes were “a systemic effort to reshape the bench with individuals more likely to deny cases without regard for due process.”