John Roth
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johnrothdc.bsky.social
John Roth
@johnrothdc.bsky.social
1.3K followers 560 following 120 posts
Former federal prosecutor, former DHS Inspector General. Ethics and compliance leader in the private sector. Interested in governance, corruption, and justice issues.
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johnrothdc.bsky.social
These leopard such liars.
pbump.com Philip Bump @pbump.com · 1d
The White House did a dishonest y-axis so I fixed their y-axis for them, you’re welcome White House
www.howtoreadthisch.art/lets-conside...
February 8, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Reposted by John Roth
davidho.bsky.social
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.
January 20, 2026 at 10:53 PM
Reposted by John Roth
hurricanexyz.bsky.social
This country's problems are, first and foremost, the fault of its people

The people need to be better for the country to get better
January 20, 2026 at 2:46 AM
Reposted by John Roth
drpottel.bsky.social
The catalog of ICE abuses in Noah Smith’s article is staggering.
Here’s a video of ICE agents in Arkansas beating up an unarmed U.S. citizen. Here’s a video of ICE agents arresting two U.S. citizens in a Target. Here’s a story about a similar arrest. Here’s a video of an ICE agent brandishing a gun in the face of a protester. Here’s the story of ICE agents arresting a pastor who complained about an arrest he saw. Here’s a video of ICE agents arresting an American citizen and punching him repeatedly. Here’s a video of ICE agents threatening a bystander who complained about their reckless driving. Here’s a video of ICE agents arresting a man for yelling at them from his own front porch. Here’s a video of ICE agents making a particularly brutal arrest while pointing their weapons at unarmed civilians nearby. Here’s a story about another ICE killing, this one in Maryland, under dubious circumstances. These are all things I noticed on X within just the last two days. There has been a pretty constant stream of these for months. Here’s a roundup of some others, by Jeremiah Johnson:
January 11, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Reposted by John Roth
longtimehistory.bsky.social
ICE detain father shopping on Christmas Eve—then steal his family's groceries.

Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.

"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.

"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.

Yakima, Washington
December 25, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Reposted by John Roth
lucatrenta.bsky.social
Just so we are all on the same page, when Trump says that 11 months ago he inherited a ‘mess,’ this is the mess he inherited.
December 18, 2025 at 8:52 AM
johnrothdc.bsky.social
This is quite a startling drop, to the detriment of public safety.
bradheath.bsky.social Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · Dec 2
NEW: President Trump has repeatedly threatened to bring federal agents, or even soldiers, to San Francisco to battle crime. His administration has actually done the opposite, quietly taking federal law enforcement away from the city to do immigration work instead.

www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
December 2, 2025 at 3:32 PM
johnrothdc.bsky.social
Another apparent series of misrepresentations to two federal courts by the Department of Justice in the Abrego Garcia cases.
November 26, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by John Roth
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
THREAD: Judge Ellis is the first federal judge to review extensive body cam video of DHS's actions in Chicago. She finds that DHS *repeatedly* misled the public and made claims that were disproven by agents' own videos.

I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
II. Credibility The Court next addresses the credibility of the parties’ evidence and witnesses. After reviewing all the evidence submitted to the Court and listening to the testimony elicited at the preliminary injunction hearing, during depositions, and in other court proceedings, the Court finds Defendants’ evidence simply not credible. [FN 6] Plaintiffs submitted a mountain of evidence, providing the Court with over eighty declarations, numerous videos and articles, and other evidence. Defendants did not rebut anything that Plaintiffs set forth in their declarations or testimony, even with BWC footage. [FN 6] In another case considering some of the same evidence presented to this Court, another court in this district also found that the perceptions of certain of Defendants’ declarants, such as Hott and Parra, were not reliable. See Illinois v. Trump, No. 25-cv-12174, 2025 WL 2886645, at *5 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 10, 2025) (noting a “troubling trend of Defendants’ declarants equating protests with riots and a lack of appreciation for the wide spectrum that exists between citizens who are observing, questioning, and criticizing their government, and those who are obstructing, assaulting, or doing violence”), motion to stay denied in part, 155 F.4th 929 (7th Cir. 2025).
November 20, 2025 at 11:04 PM
johnrothdc.bsky.social
This is insane. A government I no longer recognize.
rgoodlaw.bsky.social Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · Nov 21
A Thursday in U.S. courts

1) "This Court has grave concerns about the government’s apparent willingness to disregard this Court’s orders, even after previous admonition."

- Judge Stephanie. Gallagher, Trump appointee, Nov. 20, 2025
November 22, 2025 at 12:05 AM
johnrothdc.bsky.social
Inconceivable numbers. Each one would be a scandal in normal times.
rgoodlaw.bsky.social Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · Nov 20
We've updated our Study.

New stats (jaw-dropping imho):

1. DOJ noncompliance with court orders:

26 cases

2. Courts’ distrust of government information and representations:

Over 60 cases

3. Court findings of arbitrary and capricious government conduct:

68 cases
The “Presumption of Regularity” in Trump Administration Litigation
Comprehensive study of court cases involving Trump administration and the basis for courts no longer giving a "presumption of regularity."
www.justsecurity.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by John Roth
emptywheel.bsky.social
What We Know about the Day of Jim Comey's Indictment

www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/20/w...
What We Know about the Day of Jim Comey's Indictment - emptywheel
Let’s assume for the moment that, to the extent the players involved in indicting Jim Comey understand the least little bit about what went down, they’re telling the truth. Here’s what Lindsey Halliga...
www.emptywheel.net
November 20, 2025 at 1:59 PM
johnrothdc.bsky.social
A couple of days ago, we saw another data point, not well publicized, about the cultural health of the Department of Justice.
November 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Reposted by John Roth
raustinjr.bsky.social
To be clear, if you are still driving a Tesla or using X/Twitter, this is what you are supporting. There are non-racist, non-antisemitic alternatives that at least try to tell the truth. apple.news/AZsDQzHogSEO...
White nationalist talking points and racial pseudoscience: welcome to Elon Musk’s Grokipedia — Guardian US
World’s richest person wanted to ‘purge’ propaganda from Wikipedia, so he created a compendium of racist disinformation
apple.news
November 17, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Reposted by John Roth
thesteadystate.org
One hallmark of democratic erosion is when leaders treat dissent as betrayal. Here, Trump attacks an elected official for independent voting choices, and it’s a classic sign of replacing party pluralism with personal loyalty.
November 15, 2025 at 12:48 PM
johnrothdc.bsky.social
For those who are interested in the true culture of the Department of Justice (at least historically) I recommend the following:

open.substack.com/pub/justicec...
Current Assistant U.S. Attorneys Have the Privilege to Represent the United States
You don't represent a president, an attorney general, or a U.S. Attorney. You represent the cause of justice, and that is a privilege – but also a responsibility.
open.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 9:14 PM
johnrothdc.bsky.social
Judge Ellis ruled yesterday that the lead Border Patrol official in charge of DHS' immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, Gregory Bovino, admitted that he lied in sworn deposition testimony concerning the use of force during operations.
capitolnewsillinois.com/news/restric...
Restrictions on federal immigration agents’ use of riot control weapons extended indefinitely
Article Summary A federal judge has indefinitely extended restrictions on immigration agents’ use of riot control weapons like tear gas
capitolnewsillinois.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by John Roth
thesteadystate.org
Culture and Courage
open.substack.com/pub/steadyst...
Critical guardrails against tyranny: Personal and professional ethics and courage.
Culture and Courage
The Steady State | by The Honorable John Roth
open.substack.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:57 PM
johnrothdc.bsky.social
I’ve been thinking a bit over the last few months about organizational culture, including the culture of the Department of Justice, where I spent the majority of my career.

So I wrote something:

substack.com/@steadystate...
The Steady State (@steadystate1)
Critical guardrails against tyranny: personal and professional ethics and courage.
substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:40 AM
johnrothdc.bsky.social
www.cbsnews.com/news/erez-re...

More troubling news on the status of the Justice Department, this time in a report from 60 Minutes.
Fired Justice Department lawyer says he refused to lie in the Abrego Garcia case
Former Justice Department lawyer Erez Reuveni is speaking out about a pattern of troubling behavior he says he witnessed inside the DOJ that undermined the rule of law.
www.cbsnews.com
October 20, 2025 at 3:13 PM
johnrothdc.bsky.social
Two more career prosecutors (this time in EDVA) fired for upholding their ethical obligations. (Specifically, "refrain from prosecuting a charge that the prosecutor knows is not supported by probable cause.") Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/u...
Prosecutor Who Rejected Trump’s Pressure to Charge James Is Fired
www.nytimes.com
October 18, 2025 at 12:58 AM
johnrothdc.bsky.social
Not a single AUSA from EDVA appeared at Jim Comey’s arraignment. It speaks both to the integrity of the AUSAs in that office and the ill motives in bringing the indictment.
October 10, 2025 at 2:32 AM
johnrothdc.bsky.social
District court opinion granting an evidentiary hearing in Abrego Garcia on vindictive prosecution because Todd Blanche, Krist Noam, and Pam Bondi couldn’t keep their mouths shut.
Full opinion here:

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
October 4, 2025 at 5:29 PM
johnrothdc.bsky.social
In 1987 I took my first oath as a federal prosecutor, to “support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States.”
October 3, 2025 at 3:05 AM