Ex-Trump DOJ lawyer says 'sickening' killing of Renee Good triggering 'mass resignations'
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CNN host Erin Burnett and former Department of Justice attorney Patrick Kent on January 16, 2026 (Image: Screengrab via CNN / YouTube)
One former Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney who quit just months into President Donald Trump's second term is now confirming that many of his colleagues are about to leave the DOJ in disgust.
In a Friday segment on CNN's "OutFront," former DOJ lawyer Patrick Kent said the Trump administration's handling of the fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Renee Good at the hands of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross is prompting a mass exodus from the DOJ. CNN host Erin Burnett noted that several high-profile prosecutors have already resigned following Good's death, and asked Kent about the mood inside DOJ.
"It's an absolute intensepressure," Kent said. "Because peoplecame to the department, theywere dedicated, dedicated to the Constitution, dedicated to doingthe greater good. And now whatthey've been told is thelaw doesn't matter."
"And thefact that [the DOJ has] been weaponized,the fact that you see these massresignations, it's not hard toknow what's going on," he continued. "Peopleare not leaving because theywant to. People are not leavingbecause they can't do the job thatthey were there for. They'releaving because they are beingprevented from doing the jobthat they need to do."
Earlier this week, career prosecutor Joseph H. Thompson, who had been acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota through 2025, stepped down from his role along with five other federal prosecutors. Thompson reportedly objected to the Trump administration instructing his office to investigate Good's partner, rather than Ross, in the wake of the deadly shooting. Kent hinted at potentially even more resignations from the DOJ in response to how the administration is handling Good's death.
"And ofcourse, it makes absolute sensethat in the context of Renee Good, that when there is noinvestigation, when the video isincredibly, incredibly sickeningto watch that, in fact, you have these mass departures from the department," Kent said.
Watch the segment below: