[caption id="attachment_9897" align="alignleft" width="620"] U.S. Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C.[/caption] When news broke Feb. 9 about the departure of the U.S. Department of Justice's third in command, Rachel Brand, it became the latest wrinkle at a department beset by personnel vacancies, the Russia investigation, DACA litigation and policy reversals under Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Brand, who heads to Walmart as executive vice president, global governance and corporate secretary, hasn't disclosed her reasons for leaving, though an NBC report quotes friends and former colleagues who said the role was too good to pass up. In the same report, the Justice Department, via a spokeswoman, pushed back against anonymous sources who said Brand was leaving because she was unhappy or that she might eventually be asked to oversee the Russia investigation. Whatever the reasons, what's clear is that the DOJ has experienced a period of tremendous change. In addition to Brand's departure, these are the highlights from the DOJ's turbulent start to the year, culled from previous NLJ reports.