In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Harmeet Dhillon, the newly appointed Assistant Attorney General under the Trump administration, made some striking claims about her experiences leading the civil rights division at the Department of Justice (DOJ). Her insights oscillate between the fascinating and the outrageous, shedding light on a division long perceived as ideologically entrenched.
Dhillon asserts that the civil rights division has been notoriously liberal, and when she indicated a shift toward aligning its operations with Trump-era policies, the response was seismic: hundreds of attorneys chose to leave. Those who remained reportedly engaged in emotional ‘crying sessions’ to air their grievances over the new direction. Itâs reminiscent of college students seeking a âsafe spaceââa rather theatrical display for professionals in government service.
Hereâs a partial transcript from the interview, as reported by Real Clear Politics:
TUCKER CARLSON: Just so evil, it makes you think like, maybe we just burn the system down and start again. Thank you. Your assistant attorney general, one of the greatest appointments from my perspective in this administration, running the civil rights division, what was it like when you showed up? What did you find when you got there?
HARMEET DHILLON: Well, Tucker, first, Iâll say thank you for having me here. The Civil Rights Division is essentially the color revolution wing of the Department of Justice. Regardless of whether it’s a Republican or Democrat administration, there are career lawyers with a specific agenda. So when I arrived, or rather when the president was elected, there were over 400 attorneys in the Civil Rights Division, along with about 200 staff membersâtotalling around 600 individuals.
TUCKER CARLSON: So thatâs the definition of the deep state, what you just described. It really is. Elections have no effect. Itâs like thereâs no way to control these people. They act independently of the democratic system. I mean, thatâs the problem right there.
HARMEET DHILLON: Exactly. In response to my memos, they began leaking information to the press. They organized ‘unhappy hours,’ inviting supervisors to express their dissatisfaction. We understood their sentiment. They even held crying sessionsâcall them struggle sessions, if you willâwithin the DOJ.
This interview encapsulates an alarming reality about the entrenched personnel within government agencies. Such dynamics underscore the necessity for reforms that promote accountability and responsiveness to the electorateâa sentiment that has fueled movements advocating for significant political and institutional changes.