Ryan Reilly
Appearances
The Rachel Maddow Show
American scientists take to the streets to protest Trump's cuts
No problem. Thanks for having me.
The Rachel Maddow Show
American scientists take to the streets to protest Trump's cuts
Yeah, you know, normally that's something that we would be able to find out from the Department of Justice, but I think there's so much chaos, and I really just can't underscore the amount of chaos that's happening inside DOJ at this moment.
The Rachel Maddow Show
American scientists take to the streets to protest Trump's cuts
You know, you not only had those prosecutors who were pushed out, you not only had these leadership changes that are being instituted today at DOJ, but you also have people going after individual, you know, line attorneys who made critical comments of U.S. Attorney Ed Martin on social media, right? There's people who are now have been placed on administrative leave because of that.
The Rachel Maddow Show
American scientists take to the streets to protest Trump's cuts
So, you know, this force, the U.S. Marshals, is typically something that, you know, follows judicial orders or there's a process for or they're following, you know, that sort of procedure. They also have this critical role in protecting judges. So the idea that, you know, actual U.S. Marshals were being sort of summoned by Doge to, you
The Rachel Maddow Show
American scientists take to the streets to protest Trump's cuts
to go behind the scenes would be a big deal, but we just don't have the evidence to suggest right now that they are indeed U.S. marshals. There's nothing from the government saying affirmatively that these were indeed marshals. We just don't really have that reporting. And I think because of all of this just enormous level of chaos, it's
The Rachel Maddow Show
American scientists take to the streets to protest Trump's cuts
It's really difficult to sort of get straight answers out of the Department of Justice at the moment. And there's so many people behind the scenes, I think, who are really worried about speaking out and talking to reporters just about what's going on there because they're worried about the consequences that will have for them.
The Rachel Maddow Show
American scientists take to the streets to protest Trump's cuts
Typically, being a federal government employee, you have some level of security. And even though it was difficult to get sources to talk to you, that people weren't worried about just being instantly kicked out for any contact whatsoever or for sort of various reasons or because someone has a grudge against them. And that has sort of been thrown out the window in the last few weeks.
The Rachel Maddow Show
American scientists take to the streets to protest Trump's cuts
People are really afraid for their jobs. And there are certainly folks who are speaking out, and I appreciate every single one of them who's contacting me over Signal or what have you. But it's a really chaotic situation inside the Justice Department right now and not a lot of certainty about what's going to happen next.