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An FBI counterintelligence agent loses his career over a friendship. A prosecutor gets fired by email because of who her father is. A civil rights attorney quits rather than betray her oath. On this episode of Democracy Decoded, host Simone Leeper explores how the Trump administration's second term has undermined the rule of law at the Department of Justice. She speaks with former FBI agent Michael Feinberg, who describes being forced out after being flagged for a friendship with a former colleague who criticized the president. She also hears from law professor and former U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, who details the DOJ leadership's willingness to pursue politically motivated prosecutions, shield presidential allies, and erode judicial trust. And Campaign Legal Center’s Dana Paikowsky recounts an exodus of career officials at the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, plus a troubling pattern of failed prosecutions against protesters, and efforts to shield political appointees from bar discipline. 
 

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Hosts and Guests:

Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016.

Michael Feinberg is a former Assistant Special Agent in Charge with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he spent the overwhelming majority of his career combating the PRC’s intelligence services. He is a recipient and multiple times nominee of the FBI’s highest recognition, the Director’s Award for Excellence, as well as numerous other Bureau honors and ODNI commendations. Prior to his service with the FBI, he was an attorney in both private and public practice.

Joyce White Vance is a Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law. She served as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama from 2009 to 2017. She was nominated for that position by President Barack Obama in May of 2009 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate in August of 2009. Professor Vance served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee and was the Co-Chair of its Criminal Practice Subcommittee. As U.S. Attorney, she was responsible for overseeing all federal criminal investigations and prosecutions in north Alabama, including matters involving civil rights, national security, cybercrime, public corruption, health care and corporate fraud, violent crime and drug trafficking. She was also responsible for affirmative and defensive civil litigation on behalf of the government and for all federal criminal and civil appeals.

Before becoming U.S. Attorney, Vance served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Birmingham for 18 years. She spent ten years as a criminal prosecutor, before moving to the Appellate Division in 2002, becoming Chief of that Division in 2005. Prior to her work as a federal prosecutor, she spent six years as a litigator in private practice. She received a B.A. from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, magna cum laude, and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of law.

Dana Paikowsky graduated from Oberlin College and Harvard Law School. She joins Campaign Legal Center from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where she worked in both the Voting and Special Litigation Sections. At DOJ, her work included cases and matters to protect voters' right to cast a ballot free from intimidation, to safeguard the rights of voters with disabilities and limited English proficiency, and to combat the discriminatory policing of and institutionalization of people with disabilities. Dana also fought to protect the rights of federal workers, playing a leadership role in the successful organizing campaign to establish the Civil Rights Division Employee Union and serving as a transitional union officer for the new union. Previously, Dana was an Equal Justice Works Fellow for Campaign Legal Center in 2019, where she focused on protecting the rights of justice-involved voters. Dana joined CLC in September 2025.

Links:

Maurene Comey's Unlawful Dismissal Is a Threat to the First Amendment
The Justice Department Is in Danger of Losing Its Way Under Trump
Taking Action Against Presidential Abuses of Power
Defending Constitutional Observers Against Federal Retaliation
Dozens of Former DOJ Staff Urge Accountability for First Amendment Violations by ICE, Other Federal Agents
Protecting the First Amendment and Holding Federal Law Enforcement Accountable in Minnesota (Tincher v. Noem)
Protecting Nonpartisan Civil Servants from Illegal Retaliation (Does/Garman v. Patel)
Goodbye to All That – Michal Feinberg op-ed in Lawfare

About Campaign Legal Center:

Democracy Decoded is a production of Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan legal organization dedicated to solving the wide range of challenges facing American democracy. We fight for every American’s freedom to vote and participate meaningfully in the democratic process, particularly Americans who have faced political barriers because of race, ethnicity or economic status. Learn more about us.

Democracy Decoded is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.