John — In a few moments, I’m going to explain why the hyper-politicization of the Justice Department has a dramatic, negative effect on everyone in this country.

But to properly demonstrate the impacts, I want to tell you a story first:

One of the unique cases I took on as a young Assistant U.S. Attorney involved a corporation that hired toxic waste haulers to smuggle hazardous materials across the border into Mexico.

The U.S. government had just put in place additional environmental rules to protect our drinking water and our communities. This made it much harder to dump chemicals and toxic waste in the U.S. and was critical for water safety.

A U.S. company paid the haulers to smuggle the waste across the border and dump it in Mexico. We found dozens of drums that used to carry this hazardous waste there, from paints to flammable solvents and other toxic materials.

We also intercepted a fair amount of other cargo intended to be dumped. Unfortunately, people living in these areas emptied the drums, filled them with water, and washed clothes in them. It was dangerous, and we needed to take action.

As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, I took on this waste dumping corporation — and won.

It was the first federal prosecution for across-the-border toxic waste dumping ever. It set an important precedent: that no company, big or small, could avoid accountability when harming our planet and putting the health of communities at risk, both at home and abroad.

But if the Trump Administration succeeds at its goal of turning the Justice Department into a tool to go after political enemies, then the department might not be able to pursue cases like this. And might even look the other way.

If Attorney General Pam Bondi directs young prosecutors to target Trump’s rivals, then the Justice Department may not have the capacity to go after corporations breaking the rules and putting people in harm’s way.

If the EPA rolls back climate protections, millions of Californians and Americans are at risk of toxic material exposure.

If Trump and Musk lay off career civil servants, we lose decades of expertise in vital departments that keep our federal government running.

All of this is at risk because Donald Trump wants to use the federal government to go after his opponents. He views the Justice Department as his own legal counsel — and we can’t let him.

John, I will work to make sure the Justice Department remains a neutral arbiter of the rule of law. I will do everything I can to make sure the Justice Department pursues exactly what it’s meant to — justice.

Please, if you can, chip in $10 or anything you can afford to support my work. We need to protect the Justice Department and the young attorneys like me, all those years ago, fighting for justice for all Americans.

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Thank you for reading this longer story,

Adam