Mike Romano Represents the Best of Us

Mike Romano spent nearly 18 years as an attorney with the Department of Justice (DOJ). He loved his job and thought it would be his forever job. On January 20, 2025, he watched four years of work get wiped away.In January 2021, Mike was a trial attorney in DOJ’s Public Integrity Section. He remembered watching the events of January 6th unfold on the news. He was horrified as he saw an enormous swarm of people descend upon the US Capitol, overwhelming the building and brazenly committing crimes in broad daylight. Rioters attempted to intimidate members of Congress into keeping Donald Trump in office, demanding Congress completely disregard the legal process for certifying an election. Mike had a horrible feeling about what was happening. He worried that people would leave Washington, D.C., without facing consequences for their actions. He was sick at the thought.  By February 2021, Mike was on loan to the D.C. US Attorney’s Office for the Capitol Siege Section (CSS). For the next four years, he relived the Capitol attack every day while prosecuting January 6th cases, eventually serving as Deputy Chief beginning in September 2022. Nearly 1,600 defendants were “federally charged with crimes associated with the attack of the US Capitol.” By Inauguration Day 2025, Mike and his colleagues were worried about what would happen next. They didn’t have to wonder long. President Trump signed an executive order pardoning the January 6th rioters—not just the defendants who committed misdemeanors, but also those who committed violent crimes. The pardons were based on what President Trump called a “grave, national injustice.” The real injustice was that the pardons rewarded acts of domestic terrorism intended to undermine the peaceful transfer of power.Mike had the sinking feeling that he had to leave. For almost two months, he lived with a pit in his stomach, wondering daily if he would get fired. He had seen several of his co-workers from CSS terminated. Mike returned to Public Integrity just in time to watch his principal deputy chief and three deputy chiefs resign after refusing to sign the Motion to Dismiss corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams in the Southern District of New York. Mike knew he could not stay and watch the rule of law completely disregarded.Mike resigned from the DOJ in March 2025 and joined Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C., where he represents workers and advocates for their rights. He continues to speak out about the changes happening at DOJ and within the US Government. You can connect with Mike on LinkedIn.Learn more about this episode on our website. If you enjoy Forking Off with us, consider supporting us on ⁠⁠⁠Ko-fi⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠follow us⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠, or wherever you get your podcasts.----------The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the individuals providing them and do not necessarily represent the views of the FBI, the DOJ, the United States, or any past or current employers.