Miles Taylor

Donald Trump's weaponization of the Justice Department to go after his political enemies is not particularly new. Trump wanted his Justice Department to investigate and prosecute a long list of people and entities during his first term including Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, Former FBI Director James Comey, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, law enforcement officials, federal prosecutors, and agents from the intelligence community who investigated his campaign's connection to Russia. The Justice Department opened up investigations or appointed special counsels to investigate nearly everyone on Trump's hit list. Of all the people Trump had investigated during his first term, only three were charged with a crime, and only one of them--low level FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith--was convicted. Read Adam Klasfeld's and Ryan Goodman's review at Just Security for more about Trump siccing the Justice Department on his enemies during his first term. Then read about the 100 times that Trump has threatened to punish or prosecute his perceived enemies since 2022.

Trump's abuse of the Justice Department during his first term pales in comparison with his weaponization of it in his second term. Trump received at least some pushback against his abuse early in his first term by his first Attorney General, Jeff Sessions and by White House Counsel Don McGahn who advised Trump against using the Department to go after his enemies. But any restraints on Trump's abuse in his first term are now off in his second term, and he is now wielding his Department of Justice with a fury never seen before.

In my previous article I discussed how concentrating too much power in the hands of ANY one person could lead to disaster--especially if that person is only advised by "yes" men and women. A president who only seeks out the opinions of others who tell him what they think he wants to hear will be basing his assumptions on faulty or incomplete information, and stumbling around with blind spots never ends well.

However, if the imperial president with nearly unchecked power happens to be Donald Trump or someone like Trump, the danger becomes exponentially greater. Trump plans to implement an extreme authoritarian agenda that will transform America into a police state. The Los Angeles Times reports:

In speeches, interviews and campaign videos, Trump has promised to:

• Use the military to participate in the largest deportation of undocumented immigrants in American history;
• Order the National Guard into cities with high crime rates, whether local officials want it or not;
• Prosecute Californians who protect minors coming to the state for gender-affirming care;
• Impose a 10% tariff on almost all foreign goods, increasing prices for consumers;
• Appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” his political opponents, beginning with Biden;
• Purge the federal civil service of anyone who questions his views.