How Trump is weaponizing the DoJ to ‘bully, prosecute, punish and silence’ his foes | US justice system

D.Donald Trump’s intense pressure on the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to charge key foes with crimes based on questionable evidence and ongoing investigations of other political foes are undermining the rule of law in the US and violating department policies that academics and former prosecutors say could help defeat some indictments.

They also express concern about charges filed against former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James by former White House counsel and rookie prosecutor Lindsey Halligan, whom Trump appointed to a key U.S. attorney post after firing a senior prosecutor who deemed the cases weak.

Comey, who is charged with lying to Congress about FBI leaks and obstruction of Congress, and James, who is charged with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, have pleaded not guilty and are drawing broad support from former Justice Department officials and legal experts for challenging the insignificant evidence against them.

More than 100 former Justice Department officials filed an amicus brief on Oct. 27 that echoed some of Comey’s legal defense, arguing that the investigation into him was a “vindictive” case and should be dropped given longstanding department policies that preclude such legal tactics. Trump’s hostility toward Comey stems from the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s role in aiding the Trump campaign in 2016, when Comey led the FBI.

James Pearce, a former Justice Department attorney and a senior counsel at the Washington Litigation Group who helped organize the amicus brief, said: “This makes clear that the Justice Department’s policies are intended to ensure the fair and impartial prosecutions required by the Constitution’s due process clause. Unfortunately, the public record shows that the Comey investigation neither adhered to those policies nor complied with the constitutional obligations that undergird them.”

Other amicus briefs supporting Comey were filed in late October by groups such as the Protect Democracy Project and the Democracy Defenders Fund.

Further objecting to the Comey and James accusations, the Democracy Defenders Fund sent a letter to the Department of Justice inspector general, signed by ethics advisers to presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama, condemning Trump’s move to make Halligan interim US attorney and bring charges against them and calling for an investigation of the prosecutions.

“After Watergate, there was no more central principle to the reprofessionalization of the justice department than removing the White House from decision-making on individual cases,” said Peter Shane, who teaches constitutional law at New York University.

“Trump’s apparent public involvement in triggering prosecutions against his enemies, especially the seemingly worthless ‘evidence’ against Comey and James, will likely mean that at least some of these cases will be dismissed before trial. There is also a serious legal question as to whether Halligan was lawfully appointed to the US position in Virginia.”

Other legal experts say the justice department has been “weaponized” to further Trump’s revenge drive against Comey, James and other current and former officials; These officials blame Trump’s legal troubles, including two impeachments and federal charges that he sought to overturn his 2020 election loss.

“The blatant and blatant ‘weaponization’ of the justice department, in defiance of the professional judgment of prosecutors that criminal prosecutions are unwarranted, is the worst kind of corruption in the rule of law,” said Philip Lacovara, counsel to the Watergate special prosecutor.

“The department’s federal prosecutorial guidelines expressly prohibit federal prosecutors from considering partisan and political factors when deciding whether to file criminal charges. But Trump has made those considerations a primary justification for reducing the weight of the federal law enforcement apparatus on the minds of his political enemies.”

How the DoJ acted in line with Trump’s suggestions that enemies he publicly attacked on Truth Social and in other public and private avenues should be prosecuted or investigated underscored the points Lacovara made.

Trump, in particular, implored attorney general Pam Bondi on Truth Social in late September to file charges against Comey, James, and Democratic senator Adam Schiff; This was shortly before the DoJ indicted the first two.

Trump ramps up pressure on Bondi, just a day after Trump fired a Virginia prosecutor who refused to charge Trump’s main enemies

“What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia???” Trump wrote. “They are all guilty, but nothing will be done,” he said, adding, “We cannot delay it any longer, it is damaging our reputation and credibility.”

Trump exaggerated the dangers for “Pam” in his letter addressed to her: “They impeached me twice and sued me (5 times!) for NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE DELIVERED NOW!!!

A person familiar with Schiff’s investigation and reports suggest some Justice Department leaders are increasing pressure on the U.S. attorney in Maryland, who is investigating charging Schiff with mortgage fraud but lacks sufficient evidence to do so. Schiff and his lawyer criticized the investigation as vindictive and politically motivated.

The weekend before Comey’s indictment, Schiff responded to Trump’s Truth Social posts targeting him. “There is nothing to hide political retaliation and armament. Everything is obvious.”

Trump’s anger at Schiff stems from his time as a member of the House of Representatives and as a manager during Trump’s first impeachment.

Similarly, Trump’s hatred of James was fueled by a successful civil fraud case his office filed against Trump’s real estate empire in 2024, which the Justice Department indicted shortly after Comey, and which initially carried a hefty $500 million penalty.

The sentence was overturned last month, but Trump and his two eldest sons remain barred from holding leadership positions with the family’s real estate giant for several years.

Another Trump foe, former national security adviser and open Trump critic John Bolton, was charged last month by Maryland’s U.S. attorney with mishandling classified information. Legal experts say the investigation into Bolton began during the Biden administration and could be stronger than cases against other Trump enemies.

Bolton did not admit guilt.

One of the key figures within the DoJ to push hard on charges against some of Trump’s open enemies has been Ed Martin, a combative lawyer with strong Maga credentials who promoted false claims of election fraud in 2020 and whose legal work includes his legal work for some of the Jan. 6 rioters.

The day before the Capitol attack, Martin showed good intentions when he told a rally of Trump’s ardent supporters: “Thank you for representing our president. But remember, what they’re stealing isn’t just an election. This is our future.”

Martin was initially tapped by Trump to be D.C.’s U.S. attorney, but after serving in the role on an interim basis, Trump withdrew his nomination for Senate confirmation after a key Republican senator indicated he would not support him.

Shortly after moving to the Justice Department in May, Martin was put in charge of a “weapons working group” following allegations that he was being weaponized by the Justice Department under Democratic presidents.

Martin’s radical views on prosecuting or publicly shaming Trump’s enemies were evident when he told reporters as he was leaving his post as U.S. attorney that if people “can’t be indicted, we’re going to name them… and in a culture that respects shame, they should be people who are shamed.”

Bondi approached Martin over the summer about investigating the Schiff allegations, and to that end, she met with federal housing finance agency administrator Bill Pulte, who sent a criminal complaint against Schiff to the Justice Department in May, according to NBC.

Building on his reputation at the DoJ, Martin was also given the title of special counsel, assistant attorney general, and pardon attorney for mortgage fraud.

Former prosecutors express strong concerns about Martin’s various Justice Department roles, including encouraging some of the charges against Trump’s enemies.

“His key value to the administration is that he goes after people that Trump has identified as enemies with any tool or tactic he can find, whether or not they are legally valid,” said Mike Gordon, the senior Justice Department prosecutor in the Jan. 6 cases and one of about 20 prosecutors fired by Trump’s Justice Department.

Other former prosecutors see Martin’s modus operandi as dangerous.

“Ed Martin’s role as both a pardon attorney and chairman of the gun task force is concerning in light of the long list of public comments he has made,” said Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney who now teaches law at the University of Michigan and practices in eastern Michigan.

“His letter-writing campaign demanding answers to questions from Democratic politicians, members of the media and university leaders while he was serving as interim U.S. attorney also points to a political agenda that runs counter to the independence of the justice department.”

More generally, Lacovara calls the Justice Department’s compliance with Trump’s demands to indict his enemies “a truly Orwellian shift in the generations-long tradition of the justice department: Trump has managed to denounce investigations into his personal conduct by professional nonpolitical prosecutors while simultaneously and openly ordering his political appointees in the justice department to prosecute perceived political enemies.”

Democrats in Congress are also angry that Trump is using the DoJ to exact revenge on enemies.

“When Richard Nixon retaliated against his political enemies, he did so secretly and tried to cover his tracks,” said Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin.

“But Trump’s campaign of political persecution to bully, prosecute, punish and silence his political enemies is taking place in broad daylight and on television… But I believe district-level judges and juries, unlike Bondi and Halligan, will uphold the rule of law.”

Looking forward, former Justice Department inspector general Michael Bromwich said: “Flimsy lawsuits against those Trump sees as his enemies will fail, but the damage to the criminal justice system and the Justice Department will continue. This will be the legacy of the people who now run the Justice Department as a subordinate agency of the White House.”