How the Trump Justice Department is targeting his perceived opponents
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What recent actions has the Trump Justice Department taken against political opponents?
Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Miles Parks. I cover voting. We want to bring you some reporting now from our friends at the podcast Consider This, who looked recently at how President Trump is weaponizing the Justice Department. Here's Elsa Chang in a conversation that aired in their feed on Friday.
On the campaign trail, here is what President Trump promised.
And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution. I am your retribution.
How is President Trump using the Justice Department to pursue perceived enemies?
In his first year back in office, President Trump has pulled many different levers of government to pursue revenge against those he sees as having wronged or betrayed him.
We have a stupid person, frankly, at the Fed.
There he is referring to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The U.S. attorney in Washington is investigating Powell over building renovations that are running over budget. Well, here's how Powell responded on Sunday.
The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public rather than following the preferences of the president.
This was also the week where several Minnesota federal prosecutors resigned. The DOJ had pushed them to investigate not the killing of Renee Macklin Good, but instead the woman who is now her widow for her ties to activist groups.
What investigations are underway involving federal lawmakers and the Federal Reserve Chairman?
And then another headline tied to the Justice Department this week. Five sitting Democratic lawmakers said that federal prosecutors recently contacted them for questioning. Last year, they had all made a statement on video urging members of the military to refuse illegal orders. One of those lawmakers was Michigan Senator Alyssa Slotkin. I think it's meant to get you to shut up. Senator Slotkin spoke to my colleague, Juana Summers, on Thursday. She said the U.S. attorneys did not say if they were investigating a crime.
Just the mere fact that they've initiated this, that you have to get a lawyer, you have to come up with a strategy, you have to have these conversations, is the point, right? The intimidation is the point. Both physical intimidation, certainly the threats after the president tweeted about us, the threats went through the roof. But then the legal intimidation is just papering you over with this process.
Consider this. This week, the Justice Department made it clear that it is targeting Trump's perceived enemies with threats of federal prosecution. After the break, a closer look at the most recent escalation.
From NPR, I'm Ilsa Chang. It's Consider This from NPR. The Department of Justice is once again at the center of the news with investigations of federal lawmakers and the chairman of the Federal Reserve and resignations by career prosecutors in Minnesota. So we have asked NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro and NPR justice correspondent Kerry Johnson to talk about what's been happening over the last week. Hello to both of you. Hey there. Hi there. Carrie, let's start with you. It feels like we have been seeing like an escalation for the Justice Department and the Trump administration this week, like both when it comes to the tactics that this administration uses and their willingness to push the boundaries of the law.
Right. Is this all part of some bigger goal, you think?
Definitely. Virtually everything that's happened over the past week could have been predicted on Inauguration Day. President Trump returned to the White House promising to investigate his perceived political enemies. And after the election, people were worried about DOJ, but changes there have been more sweeping and more quick than many of them feared. The Supreme Court in the immunity case made clear President Trump and future presidents are largely immune from prosecution for their official actions in office. And so this is an aggressive Justice Department under Trump's full command, really the culmination of statements he made on the campaign trail.
That's right, on the campaign trail, because as a candidate, he promised, right, to go after his enemies.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What recent actions has the Trump Justice Department taken against political opponents?
0:04–0:31
2
How is President Trump using the Justice Department to pursue perceived enemies?
0:31–1:24
3
What investigations are underway involving federal lawmakers and the Federal Reserve Chairman?
1:24–6:03
4
What led to the resignation of several federal prosecutors in Minnesota?
6:03–7:48
5
How are Democratic lawmakers responding to federal questioning?
7:48–10:28