Here’s what happened in August.

Oversight and Transparency Updates

Since the beginning of this administration, top DOJ officials have cracked down on avenues for employees to report abuses. Reuters reported in August that nearly half of the Office of Professional Responsibility has left, and that the Office of Inspector General shrank by 17%. Many took the deferred resignation offer early in the administration or retired. In FY 2025, OPR received 1,666 complaints — the highest since 2005 — and opened the fewest number of investigations in those 20 years.

August also saw new leadership in the Inspector General’s Office with the confirmation of Don Berthiaume. Berthiaume is a veteran government watchdog who served as a career investigative counsel in OIG from 2010 to 2020 and Acting Inspector General from October 2025 to January 2026, among other roles. During his time as Acting IG, the office has been criticized for ignoring complaints against political appointees. On his first day in office as the permanent IG, Berthiaume issued a memo directing his staff to conduct oversight “without regard to political, reputation, or institutional consequences,” but stressed that the office’s independence is restricted by statute, and that OIG and cannot “substitute its judgment for that of Department officials” on policy matters.

At the FBI, Director Patel ordered the Office of General Counsel to cut its staff by about 25%. OGC employs hundreds of lawyers to advise FBI leaders on the legality of investigative steps, respond to lawsuits against the FBI, and coordinate with DOJ prosecutors on cases. As a retired FBI supervisory special agent told Bloomberg, OGC is “vital in making sure that the agents conducting investigations were always within the guidelines.” Yet in recent months, Patel has worked to sideline the FBI’s legal staff as he directs investigations into the president’s enemies.

Government transparency also took a hit in August. The Office of Legal Counsel issued a memo allowing the White House to extend executive privilege to the president’s personal lawyers involved in specific matters. This will likely impact the American Bar Association’s attempt to subpoena Boris Epshteyn’s communications in its lawsuit against executive orders on law firms. Epshteyn, Trump’s personal lawyer, handled many of the White House deals with the law firms that capitulated to the administration’s demands last year. The OLC memo could also create hurdles for congressional oversight if the balance of power changes next year.

Finally, DOJ announced it will no longer use a peer review system that uses outside experts to evaluate grant applications. The peer review program, which is considered the gold standard and has been used for decades, ensures the billions of dollars in grant money DOJ awards each year is distributed in an impartial way. Kris Rose is a former director of the Office for Victims of Crime who also helped design Justice Connection’s Mental Health Support Network. As she told CBS News, the program “is one of the tools that the government could use to make good, sound, cost-effective decisions.”

Going forward, DOJ’s grant offices will conduct internal peer reviews of applications — putting stress on already understaffed offices and exposing the grantmaking process to greater political influence.

Here are a few other things you might’ve missed:

• A whistleblower, who worked as a lawyer in the Civil Rights Division under this administration, reported that administration officials ignored investigators who said there was not enough evidence to pursue civil rights cases against Brown University, Columbia, and Harvard.
• Acting Attorney General Blanche told anti-abortion faith leaders that DOJ is working to ensure Dobbs, the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, is “permanent in every single state” by cracking down on mail-order medication.
• Reuters reported that sex trafficking investigations have stalled amidst staffing shortages, funding cuts, and the prioritization of immigration enforcement at DOJ.
• Ed Martin is leaving the Justice Department. President Trump made the announcement on Aug. 21, saying Martin will be leaving DOJ to work on election litigation from outside the government.
• President Trump says U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia “choked” and “folded like an umbrella” after she dropped charges against former Olympian David Hearn, who was accused of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool. The charges were dropped after Pirro’s office found that the damage was caused by poor installation. The White House has reportedly asked DOJ to bring new charges against Hearn.