'Living legend' chased off in DOJ purge – creating 'real problem' fighting spy threats
The Justice Department’s National Security Division is facing a significant backlog of espionage cases amid high staff turnover in a buildup that has prompted alarm among some insiders, NOTUS reported Tuesday.
“I have no idea who or how the department would handle a major espionage case right now,” a former DOJ employee told NOTUS, speaking with the news outlet under the condition of anonymity. “It’s a real problem.”
The Trump administration has been plagued with high-profile resignations and firings, with the DOJ being no exception. In the past month, the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, which operates under the DOJ’s National Security Division, has seen three different chiefs, with the current chief Scott Lara “unable to occupy an office” for his first few days in the role due to lacking the proper security clearance.
Now, the CECS is down 27 attorneys from 40 earlier in 2025, according to sources speaking with NOTUS, and as a result, is plagued with a backlog of cases that some experts say could pose a major threat to national security.
“The magnitude of the loss of attorneys in (CECS) is potentially very damaging for the national security of the United States,” said David Laufman, an attorney who previously led the CECS as its chief from 2014 to 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile, speaking with NOTUS.
“There is a steady battle rhythm of counterintelligence threats from a range of notorious bad actors, particularly China, Russia and Iran," Laufman added. "That type of judgment is irreplaceable at the front office.”
A number of DOJ prosecutors that had previously worked on cases targeting President Donald Trump were among those fired from their positions, and at least “two senior NSD officials” were reassigned for “similar reasons,” wrote NOTUS’ Jose Pagliery. Furthermore, several more had left out of fear of either retribution of layoffs, the anonymous sources told NOTUS.
Other DOJ officials were spared from termination but diverted away from counterintelligence operations, such as George Toscas, who was reassigned to investigate cities with immigration policies unfavorable to Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Such reassignments, another source told NOTUS, also put the nation’s safety at risk.
“Toscas was a living legend and single-handedly possessed more knowledge and experience in the areas of counterterrorism and counterespionage than the rest of the department combined,” said a second former DOJ employee, speaking with NOTUS under the condition of anonymity. “We are less safe as a nation without him there.”