U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division Recruits Lawyers with Controversial Backgrounds
The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division is recruiting lawyers with controversial backgrounds, including criminal convictions and conspiracy theories, following mass staff departures.
According to an investigation published by The New York Times, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice is recruiting lawyers with particularly problematic professional and personal backgrounds, including conspiracy theories, violent behavior, and even criminal convictions. The move follows the departure of more than 300 career employees from the division since the beginning of 2025, amid changes led by division head Harmeet Dhillon to advance the agenda of the Donald Trump administration.
Controversial New Hires and Past Convictions
Among the notable new recruits is David Michael Levin, a conservative activist from Florida who served prison time after breaking into a local election system in 2016 and was recently ordered to pay over $200,000 in damages for misrepresentation and civil conspiracy. Simultaneously, Eric Neff, appointed to temporarily lead the sensitive voting section ahead of the midterm elections, was previously placed on administrative leave due to irregularities in a fraud case he handled.
The list of controversial appointments also includes prosecutor Khalil H. Quinan, who was forced to withdraw from a high-profile murder case after reviewing confidential defense documents. Alongside him, James Breslow, a former gambling manager who hosted podcasts promoting UFO conspiracy theories and narratives surrounding the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, was also recruited.
Defense of the Appointments
Another name highlighted in the investigation is attorney David Vandenberg, who faced complaints of rude behavior toward colleagues, charges of animal neglect, and a civil lawsuit for intentionally damaging a car carrying a mother and her two children. Another lawyer, Daniel Flickinger, was fired from his firm in 2020 after posting on social media that George Floyd was "lucky" to die the way he did because he received a nationwide funeral. Additionally, Barry Arrington, a staunch opponent of the theory of evolution and same-sex marriage, was placed at the head of a new unit dealing with the Second Amendment.
The Department of Justice defended the appointments. A department spokesperson emphasized the rich legal experience of the recruits, and Dhillon herself stated in response:
"For years, the division recruited from a narrow pool of progressive activists and called it excellence. We are hiring attorneys who have tried hundreds of cases and won before the Supreme Court. That is the experience this division needs to enforce the civil rights of every American."
