Inside the Justice Dept. "rubber room," where veteran lawyers do jigsaw puzzles and stream shows to pass time

When the Trump administration swept into the Department of Justice on Jan. 20, it moved swiftly to purge, demote, transfer and otherwise sideline career lawyers not perceived to be team players or sufficiently committed to the MAGA legal agenda.

Amid the upheaval and exodus of longtime federal prosecutors, one quiet 10th floor office in a remote outpost of the Justice Department has come to symbolize the withering impact of changes at the agency. Those who work there call it "the rubber room." 

Inside, over a dozen of the government's most seasoned civil rights, environmental and national security lawyers have been reconstituted as members of a newly created group called the Sanctuary Cities task force.