MAGA v. U.S. Constitution: The Semblance of Normalcy Feels Naïve

Whistleblowers, prosecutors, and public servants describe a second-term Trump administration using fear, loyalty tests, and legal defiance to consolidate power; and punish those who won’t play along.

Jul 24, 2025

Attorneys, civil servants, and whistleblowers describe being pressured to choose between following the law and keeping their jobs. Some resigned. Others were fired. Many are now warning (publicly and on the record) that the machinery of government is being reshaped not just incompetently, but intentionally, in ways that threaten constitutional norms and democratic accountability.

This post from Tony Romm yesterday is what formed the seeds of the article you're reading now:

The watchdog Romm refers to is the GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, and I'm putting that in all-caps on purpose: I want you to remember it.

The Calls Coming from Inside The Buildings

It's hard to accept the fact that an entire branch of government is simply choosing its own reality, aided and abetted by those members of Congress who benefit from their power. Still, an ever-growing mountain of examples makes it nearly impossible to deny that there is, at the very least, an unbelievable disrespect for the rule of law.

Erez Reuveni

Source: The Daily

Reuveni joined the Justice department in 2010 and stayed there until he was let go in April this year. He was awarded three times by the first Trump Administration, and was promoted by the second Trump administration very shortly before he was fired.

Reuveni made a whistleblower report in June which stated that the Trump administration knowingly chose not to follow a court order. In his interview with The Daily by New York Times, he says he was forced to choose between the law and his job.

“It’s pretty clear they fired me as a warning shot to the DOJ, to the Civil Division in particular. Here’s Erez Reuveni. Here’s a guy who defended everything in the first Trump administration.

Here’s a guy that nobody thinks is some kind of partisan actor, and we’re going to fire him. And if you guys want to follow in his footsteps, and not play ball, not pick loyalty to the president’s agenda over your duty to candor of the courts, we’ll fire you, too. We’ll take away your livelihood. We’ll put you in the possible position of choosing ethics or salary.”

AFGE Local 3403 (National Science Foundation)

Source: Letter dated July 21 2025, from 140+ Members of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403 (AFGE 3403), who work at the National Science Foundation (NSF)

“As civil servants, NSF employees are bound by their oath to uphold the Constitution. That oath now compels us to call attention to actions that jeopardize NSF's mission, its independence, and the foundational laws that protect the federal workforce from politicization and abuse.”

“NSF employees are committed to serving the American people through research, education, and innovation. But they cannot do so under fear, censorship, and institutional sabotage. Without immediate oversight and corrective action from Congress, one of our nation’s greatest engines for scientific and technological advancement faces irreversible long-term damage. Put simply, America will forfeit its scientific leadership position to China and other rival nations.”

Mark Zaid

Source: ABC News & The Record

Mark Zaid is a high-profile whistleblower attorney who was stripped of his security clearance earlier this year for “improper political retribution.”

Filed May 6th in his lawsuit against the Trump administration, the complaint reads “Mr. Zaid has been a practicing attorney for over thirty years and for most of his professional career he has maintained authorized access to classified information… Indeed, far from being a security risk, he has established himself and has been recognized by legal and non-legal entities as a leader in the legal community and in the national security field specifically.”

In an interview with The Record, Zaid stated “Even though we were told the weaponization of the justice system and intelligence community shall not happen again because of how bad it was to Donald Trump and his allies — we've seen exactly the opposite. In fact, what we have seen is the mobilization of it to an extent we have never seen before, probably for the most part in many of our lifetimes.”

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA)

Source: Letter from Ranking Member Gerald E. Connolly, Committee on Government Oversight & Reform, April 17 2025

“The whistleblower information obtained by the Committee, combined with public reporting, paints a picture of chaos at SSA as DOGE is rapidly, haphazardly, and unlawfully working to implement changes that could disrupt Social Security payments and expose Americans’ sensitive data.”

Denise Cheung

Source: New York Times

NYT’s Eileen Sullivan, Glenn Thrush & Adam Goldman: “A top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., abruptly resigned on Tuesday after she declined a request from Trump administration officials to freeze assets of a government contractor, saying she had insufficient evidence to do so.

In her resignation letter, which was obtained by The New York Times, the prosecutor, Denise Cheung, who oversaw the office’s criminal division, described how the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, Ed Martin, had asked her to step down after she refused to order a bank to freeze accounts of an unnamed contractor.”

Danielle Sassoon

Source: BBC News

Danielle Sassoon is a former US Attorney who resigned after being ordered by the Justice Department to drop the case against New York Mayor Eric Adams, rather than comply with an unlawful order. Despite her background and experience placing her firmly within conservative politics and ideology, she refused to break the law.

BBC’s Kayla Epstein, Madeline Halpert, and Nada Tawfik: “She did not go quietly. In a letter to US Attorney General Pam Bondi, which quickly became public, Sassoon said there was no legal justification for dismissing the case.

She made explosive allegations of a quid-pro-quo proposed by Adams' attorneys to the justice department, and said that the top official who ordered them to stop, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, had not provided sufficient legal justification for his actions.

Adams and his attorney, Alex Spiro, have denied Sassoon's allegation. Trump himself has denied political meddling in the criminal case.”

Hagan Scotten

Source: The Brie-fing via New York Times

One of the 7 Justice Department officials who resigned after refusing to carry out an order to dismiss Eric Adams's case:

Hagan Scotten: "Any federal prosecutor would know that our laws and traditions do not allow using prosecutorial power to influence citizens, much less elected officials. …If no lawyer within earshot of the president is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward to file your motion, but it was never going to be me."

Why This Matters

Here's why:

But wait, WAIT! That's NOT EVEN the craziest part! In WaPo’s reporting, they note:

With the GAO currently investigating dozens of cases, and the fact that they've thrice documented illegal activity, it's obvious that the administration’s attempts to hinder the DOJ’s work is yet another power grab… YET ANOTHER damn slap in the face to American law. Knowing that members of Congress are assisting with it… well, that feels treasonous. Alas, I'm no lawyer.

I really hope the GAO is able to continue their work, because it’s important to We The People.

While I compiled the sources for this story, the same phrase kept popping up in my head;

This doesn't even scratch the surface.

Trump, Rubio, Noem, Patel, Bondi, Hegseth, Homan, Miller, McMahon, Lutnick, Bongino, Wiles… all of these people have sworn an oath to the U.S. Constitution, and to We The People.

Americans are used to having politicians lie to their faces… but these folks aren't just lying; they're violating the Constitution and their oaths of office. If they don't care about working for us, what on Earth are they planning?

…And for whose benefit?

Answers I Don't Have

I can only assume the water still comes out of the faucet because of state and local governments, thank goodness, but I freely admit: It is massively disorienting to see our society keep chugging along as the federal government suffers a hostile takeover by a traitorous group of people.

That we're still chugging along is a testament to the American people… but it feels naïve to believe we'll be able to keep this semblance of normalcy going with an Executive Branch that's not just changing shape rapidly, but openly violating the Constitution.

The Washington Post appears to have confirmed this yesterday, releasing a comprehensive analysis of hundreds of lawsuits against Trump policies showing dozens of examples of defiance, delay and dishonesty. You won't catch me paying for WaPo, so I can't review that analysis myself, but it's just one more in the mountain of examples that seems to grow everyday.

I keep asking myself… are we watching treason happen in front of our eyes?

Is it a kakistocracy? A tech broligarchy?

Is this the dark enlightenment thing?

I don't know.