This was a really interesting article, for me, highlighted by the resignation letter (an attachment) of Danielle Sassoon. She had just begun her career with the DOJ, having JUST been appointed the U.S. Attorney for the SDNY by this administration. Many consider this to be a top-dog prosecutorial position in the country, a real feather in one’s cap. One can’t help but wonder if when she was chosen, the “Oz’s” that are working behind the curtain believed they would be able to manipulate her as needed. Good for her for showing otherwise AND for laying out an extremely well reasoned legal framework for why this nonsense should not be dismissed.
I've been thinking about people who faced real consequences for choosing their oath to the Constitution when Trump made them decide between loyalty to him or to their country. These folks aren't perfect - they're just humans who made tough choices when it mattered. Some had supported Trump's policies before, some hadn't. But what they have in common is they all paid a price for doing what they thought was right. And in a climate where these people are going to be much more rare than in the first Trump term, it’s even more important to remember what honor looks like.
This is just a starter list - there are many more examples out there. Add more to this list if they come to mind!
1. Danielle Sassoon & Hagan Scotten
As mentioned in the article, they chose their principles over their careers when asked to sell out their power for corrupt reasons.
2. Brad Raffensperger & Gabriel Sterling
When Trump called asking Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger to "find" more votes, he said no. Sterling gave an emotional speech begging for the attacks on election workers to stop. Both faced death threats so serious they needed security details.
3. Mike Pence
Pence was Trump's loyal VP for four years, with hardly a critical word for anything he did over the course of the term. But when it came down to it, he refused to throw out electoral votes on January 6th. And thus, he was no longer “loyal” to Trump. He literally had to run for his life as rioters chanted "Hang Mike Pence" in the Capitol. His own Secret Service detail was so worried they were calling their families to say goodbye. I wonder why he wasn’t asked back for Trump 2.0.
4. Bill Barr
Trump's Attorney General was no opposition figure - he'd backed Trump on many dubious things. But when asked to say the 2020 election was stolen, he said no. He publicly stated there was no evidence of widespread fraud, and laughed at the claims being made. He lost his job and I doubt we will see him return this time.
5. Jeffrey Rosen
As Acting Attorney General in those final crazy weeks, Rosen refused to have the DOJ challenge election results. He knew he'd get fired, but he said no anyway.
6. Chris Krebs
This guy ran election cybersecurity for Trump. When he declared the 2020 election "the most secure in American history," Trump fired him by tweet.
7. Marie Yovanovitch
A career diplomat who served under both parties, she got caught in the Ukraine mess. When she refused to play ball with the pressure campaign, she was suddenly pulled from her post as ambassador. After 33 years of service, her career was done.
8. Alexander Vindman
A Purple Heart recipient serving on the National Security Council, he reported concerns about that Ukraine call through proper channels. He was forced to retire from the military after 21 years. Needed armed security because of threats. He and his wife have given interviews about how they are crippled with fear, traumatized by the harassment and threats of prosecution that they have received.
9. James Mattis
“Mad Dog" Mattis was a Marine's Marine - a four-star general so respected that Congress had to pass a special law letting him serve as Secretary of Defense. He tried to work with Trump, but when Trump ordered troops to clear peaceful protesters for a photo op at a church, Mattis finally spoke out. He wrote a blistering letter comparing Trump's tactics to Nazi "divide and conquer" strategies and saying Trump was the first president in his lifetime trying to divide Americans rather than unite them. His former troops were told not to mention his name at the Pentagon. He was banned from Marine Corps events. Fellow generals who'd served with him for decades stopped taking his calls. Conservative media branded him a traitor.
10. Rusty Bowers
The Arizona House Speaker was a Trump supporter, but when asked to help overturn his state's election, he said no. He said: "I will not play with laws I swore allegiance to." He lost his seat after 18 years and got censured by his own party. But he stuck to his oath.
Who else would you add to this list? Who are the other public servants who risked their careers to do what they thought was right? I can think of others but I had to stop at 10 so I can do my “real” job.
Mitt Romney belongs on that list. He stood up to impeach Trump even tho it cost him his hope of serving in the senate longer. He is probably high on Trump’s list of getting revenge.
You already mentioned Pence but when he got booed at Hamilton his only comment was how great it was that we live in a country with free speech. He didn’t go around trashing people for not agreeing with him.
You make a good point about that Hamilton moment. It does show grace under pressure and an ability to respect dissent, which are important qualities in a democracy. And yes, those same qualities ultimately helped him do the right thing on January 6th when faced with arguably the most important decision of his vice presidency. I thank him for that.
But we also won't forget: Pence was a key player in an administration that botched the COVID response leading to over 130,000 preventable deaths in just the first year according to excess mortality studies (compared to other countries that were better prepared and organized), attacked protections for women and LGBTQ citizens, and deliberately eroded trust in our democratic institutions. For 99.9999% of his term, he enabled and defended these actions. Doing the bare minimum required by the Constitution at the very end - while commendable - doesn't wipe that slate clean.
So yes, we can acknowledge when someone shows character or does the right thing in a crucial moment, while still holding them accountable for their broader impact on our country. It's an incredibly low bar we have set, right? 🥲
Many of the people on your list would never have been forced to pay a price at all if they had just stood up to Trump’s lies, ignorance and corruption early on. They rode the despicable MAGA wave for their own purposes until it eventually overcame them. And here we are.
Elliot Richardson for his refusal to fire Archibald Cox during the Watergate scandal. I wish I could take credit for recalling this example (older but apropos), but it was Lawrence O’Donnell who did a piece about “The Principled Resignation” about a week ago that put Mr. Richardson and Mr. Cox top-of-mind for me.
Thanks Nicole! So Richardson would be kind of a prototype for the list of people who chose country over party. I wasn’t aware of this story and I will read more. Thanks again!
I want to Thank you. Your continuation of this post providing and asking for more contributions may have turned my day - and my head - around remembering that there is hope!
Liz Cheney has the highest vote percentage aligned with the republican party, but I admire her integrity and honesty from the Jan. 6 seditious acts by Republicans!!
Disagreeing can make for a more perfect union, but dishonoring cannot.
I find it so scary that so much has been done to sow distrust in our legal system by the far right (“the election was rigged and courts can’t be trusted,” “Jan 6 convictions were wrongs,” “trump’s legal troubles were politically motivated,” etc). Many will not see reality even with these clearly conservative prosecutors shouting it from resignation letters. In conversations with Trump supporters I hear so much distrust of literally everyone and every institution who does not step in line with him. He (and his administration) are their only source of truth and fact. I don’t know how to navigate it and it takes so much energy to try. Rest and repeat I guess. I’m just so sad that we don’t share reality. Even when it’s career conservatives telling Trump supporters. Sigh.
Agreed. Especially when it seems like Trump is actually RINO. He doesn't seem to represent conservative values at all, which make it all even more mind numbing.
Well done, Sharon. It’s easy to forget that there are many Republicans who believe in the law of the land and they will stand behind the principles of integrity. I joked this morning about pining for the old days of watergate to be the biggest scandal of our political history.
I’m encouraged that people are still standing up for what’s right and also continually horrified (but unfortunately not surprised) by the forces fighting against those who do. May there be more and more of the former and less and less of the latter.
“I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion,” Scotten wrote in his resignation letter. “But it was never going to be me.” 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I’m so glad there are still some people willing to take a stand against this administration’s absolute disregard for law and justice. I’m sad that it’s costing them their careers to do it.
One thing has become clear since Inauguration Day: Driving good, law-abiding people out of government is the goal of these orders. P2025 and the MAGA movement require people who respect the rule of law to be replaced by Trump loyalists. This was never, and will never be, about "waste" or "efficiency". Don't be fooled.
I read that the governor is going to choose additional oversight over firing. I wonder if she's waiting for the Judge to rule in the case. It seems extremely unlikely reading the news that the mayor would ever resign. Like Gold Bar Bob I wish he would have taken that route! I agree about the prosecutors. https://apnews.com/article/nyc-mayor-new-york-trump-14be53dca175ef4bf8a3c4204ba7ff05
As a New Yorker, I have been calling the governor DAILY demanding she remove Adams, and thanks to this article, I have now also emailed the comptroller. Adams was always a terrible and embarrassing mayor, then he was also a corrupt criminal mayor, and now he's a terrible, embarrassing, corrupt, criminal, puppet mayor. NYC deserves better.
Kind of a different issue but same kind of thinking re: republicans with ethics. Why can’t Marco Rubio stand up to the bullying that is going on with Ukraine? I expected more from him. Putin bombs hospitals with children in them. Is this the kind of nation we are becoming? If Trump/MAGA supports Putin aren’t they in a sense supporting a blatant child killer? Has Trump and his cronies gotten this low? How can Marco Rubio sleep with himself at night?
This was a really interesting article, for me, highlighted by the resignation letter (an attachment) of Danielle Sassoon. She had just begun her career with the DOJ, having JUST been appointed the U.S. Attorney for the SDNY by this administration. Many consider this to be a top-dog prosecutorial position in the country, a real feather in one’s cap. One can’t help but wonder if when she was chosen, the “Oz’s” that are working behind the curtain believed they would be able to manipulate her as needed. Good for her for showing otherwise AND for laying out an extremely well reasoned legal framework for why this nonsense should not be dismissed.
I've been thinking about people who faced real consequences for choosing their oath to the Constitution when Trump made them decide between loyalty to him or to their country. These folks aren't perfect - they're just humans who made tough choices when it mattered. Some had supported Trump's policies before, some hadn't. But what they have in common is they all paid a price for doing what they thought was right. And in a climate where these people are going to be much more rare than in the first Trump term, it’s even more important to remember what honor looks like.
This is just a starter list - there are many more examples out there. Add more to this list if they come to mind!
1. Danielle Sassoon & Hagan Scotten
As mentioned in the article, they chose their principles over their careers when asked to sell out their power for corrupt reasons.
2. Brad Raffensperger & Gabriel Sterling
When Trump called asking Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger to "find" more votes, he said no. Sterling gave an emotional speech begging for the attacks on election workers to stop. Both faced death threats so serious they needed security details.
3. Mike Pence
Pence was Trump's loyal VP for four years, with hardly a critical word for anything he did over the course of the term. But when it came down to it, he refused to throw out electoral votes on January 6th. And thus, he was no longer “loyal” to Trump. He literally had to run for his life as rioters chanted "Hang Mike Pence" in the Capitol. His own Secret Service detail was so worried they were calling their families to say goodbye. I wonder why he wasn’t asked back for Trump 2.0.
4. Bill Barr
Trump's Attorney General was no opposition figure - he'd backed Trump on many dubious things. But when asked to say the 2020 election was stolen, he said no. He publicly stated there was no evidence of widespread fraud, and laughed at the claims being made. He lost his job and I doubt we will see him return this time.
5. Jeffrey Rosen
As Acting Attorney General in those final crazy weeks, Rosen refused to have the DOJ challenge election results. He knew he'd get fired, but he said no anyway.
6. Chris Krebs
This guy ran election cybersecurity for Trump. When he declared the 2020 election "the most secure in American history," Trump fired him by tweet.
7. Marie Yovanovitch
A career diplomat who served under both parties, she got caught in the Ukraine mess. When she refused to play ball with the pressure campaign, she was suddenly pulled from her post as ambassador. After 33 years of service, her career was done.
8. Alexander Vindman
A Purple Heart recipient serving on the National Security Council, he reported concerns about that Ukraine call through proper channels. He was forced to retire from the military after 21 years. Needed armed security because of threats. He and his wife have given interviews about how they are crippled with fear, traumatized by the harassment and threats of prosecution that they have received.
9. James Mattis
“Mad Dog" Mattis was a Marine's Marine - a four-star general so respected that Congress had to pass a special law letting him serve as Secretary of Defense. He tried to work with Trump, but when Trump ordered troops to clear peaceful protesters for a photo op at a church, Mattis finally spoke out. He wrote a blistering letter comparing Trump's tactics to Nazi "divide and conquer" strategies and saying Trump was the first president in his lifetime trying to divide Americans rather than unite them. His former troops were told not to mention his name at the Pentagon. He was banned from Marine Corps events. Fellow generals who'd served with him for decades stopped taking his calls. Conservative media branded him a traitor.
10. Rusty Bowers
The Arizona House Speaker was a Trump supporter, but when asked to help overturn his state's election, he said no. He said: "I will not play with laws I swore allegiance to." He lost his seat after 18 years and got censured by his own party. But he stuck to his oath.
Who else would you add to this list? Who are the other public servants who risked their careers to do what they thought was right? I can think of others but I had to stop at 10 so I can do my “real” job.
Liz Cheney is one that comes to mind for me.
Omg, yes absolutely, top of the list. I wrote her down in my mind but somehow didn’t mention her or Adam Kinzinger?! Whoops. Thank you.
Mitt Romney belongs on that list. He stood up to impeach Trump even tho it cost him his hope of serving in the senate longer. He is probably high on Trump’s list of getting revenge.
Without a doubt, Romney belongs there. Thanks Diane!
You already mentioned Pence but when he got booed at Hamilton his only comment was how great it was that we live in a country with free speech. He didn’t go around trashing people for not agreeing with him.
You make a good point about that Hamilton moment. It does show grace under pressure and an ability to respect dissent, which are important qualities in a democracy. And yes, those same qualities ultimately helped him do the right thing on January 6th when faced with arguably the most important decision of his vice presidency. I thank him for that.
But we also won't forget: Pence was a key player in an administration that botched the COVID response leading to over 130,000 preventable deaths in just the first year according to excess mortality studies (compared to other countries that were better prepared and organized), attacked protections for women and LGBTQ citizens, and deliberately eroded trust in our democratic institutions. For 99.9999% of his term, he enabled and defended these actions. Doing the bare minimum required by the Constitution at the very end - while commendable - doesn't wipe that slate clean.
So yes, we can acknowledge when someone shows character or does the right thing in a crucial moment, while still holding them accountable for their broader impact on our country. It's an incredibly low bar we have set, right? 🥲
Agree about Liz. Also Adam Kinzinger.
Many of the people on your list would never have been forced to pay a price at all if they had just stood up to Trump’s lies, ignorance and corruption early on. They rode the despicable MAGA wave for their own purposes until it eventually overcame them. And here we are.
Elliot Richardson for his refusal to fire Archibald Cox during the Watergate scandal. I wish I could take credit for recalling this example (older but apropos), but it was Lawrence O’Donnell who did a piece about “The Principled Resignation” about a week ago that put Mr. Richardson and Mr. Cox top-of-mind for me.
Thanks Nicole! So Richardson would be kind of a prototype for the list of people who chose country over party. I wasn’t aware of this story and I will read more. Thanks again!
I want to Thank you. Your continuation of this post providing and asking for more contributions may have turned my day - and my head - around remembering that there is hope!
Liz Cheney has the highest vote percentage aligned with the republican party, but I admire her integrity and honesty from the Jan. 6 seditious acts by Republicans!!
Disagreeing can make for a more perfect union, but dishonoring cannot.
Geoff Duncan- former lieutenant governor of Georgia who spoke at the DNC. He has been drug through the mud for it.
I find it so scary that so much has been done to sow distrust in our legal system by the far right (“the election was rigged and courts can’t be trusted,” “Jan 6 convictions were wrongs,” “trump’s legal troubles were politically motivated,” etc). Many will not see reality even with these clearly conservative prosecutors shouting it from resignation letters. In conversations with Trump supporters I hear so much distrust of literally everyone and every institution who does not step in line with him. He (and his administration) are their only source of truth and fact. I don’t know how to navigate it and it takes so much energy to try. Rest and repeat I guess. I’m just so sad that we don’t share reality. Even when it’s career conservatives telling Trump supporters. Sigh.
It drives me absolutely bonkers that any dissenting opinion within the Republican Party is deemed a RINO and untrustworthy.
It is textbook cult like thinking, right? “Facts come from our leader. Everyone else is playing you.” It is so exhausting to engage with.
Agreed. Especially when it seems like Trump is actually RINO. He doesn't seem to represent conservative values at all, which make it all even more mind numbing.
Well said
Well done, Sharon. It’s easy to forget that there are many Republicans who believe in the law of the land and they will stand behind the principles of integrity. I joked this morning about pining for the old days of watergate to be the biggest scandal of our political history.
Yes, Stephanie. So many comparisons to Watergate and Hitler. Just a reminder, folks, we are comparing this administration to the worst of the worst!
We are in the worst of times!
I’m encouraged that people are still standing up for what’s right and also continually horrified (but unfortunately not surprised) by the forces fighting against those who do. May there be more and more of the former and less and less of the latter.
“I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion,” Scotten wrote in his resignation letter. “But it was never going to be me.” 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I’m so glad there are still some people willing to take a stand against this administration’s absolute disregard for law and justice. I’m sad that it’s costing them their careers to do it.
The actions of these young prosecutors show us what real integrity looks like and the very real personal sacrifice it requires.
It strikes me how many times the word chaos comes up when describing the results of this administration’s actions.
King Chaos.
One thing has become clear since Inauguration Day: Driving good, law-abiding people out of government is the goal of these orders. P2025 and the MAGA movement require people who respect the rule of law to be replaced by Trump loyalists. This was never, and will never be, about "waste" or "efficiency". Don't be fooled.
Great guest post! Thank you, Gabe Fleisher!
This was interesting- I didn’t know that New York could remove a mayor in those ways. Those Prosecutors are heroes. They demonstrated their integrity.
I read that the governor is going to choose additional oversight over firing. I wonder if she's waiting for the Judge to rule in the case. It seems extremely unlikely reading the news that the mayor would ever resign. Like Gold Bar Bob I wish he would have taken that route! I agree about the prosecutors. https://apnews.com/article/nyc-mayor-new-york-trump-14be53dca175ef4bf8a3c4204ba7ff05
I didn’t either. That was interesting to learn, and I guess time will tell if take if they take that action.
As a New Yorker, I have been calling the governor DAILY demanding she remove Adams, and thanks to this article, I have now also emailed the comptroller. Adams was always a terrible and embarrassing mayor, then he was also a corrupt criminal mayor, and now he's a terrible, embarrassing, corrupt, criminal, puppet mayor. NYC deserves better.
Great article, Gabe - thank you (if you're not already following Gabe over at Wake Up Politics, please do!).
I recently began reading his publication and enjoying it!
Thanks for the excellent run down of the events and players. I like this format for much.
Kind of a different issue but same kind of thinking re: republicans with ethics. Why can’t Marco Rubio stand up to the bullying that is going on with Ukraine? I expected more from him. Putin bombs hospitals with children in them. Is this the kind of nation we are becoming? If Trump/MAGA supports Putin aren’t they in a sense supporting a blatant child killer? Has Trump and his cronies gotten this low? How can Marco Rubio sleep with himself at night?