By any measure now, Sheriff Donald Trump’s weaponized Justice guns are out of the holster. He is on the hunt for personal foes.
Just this week, Donald Trump’s prosecutors have dropped all pretense of avoiding pouring partisanship on enforcement, charging a Democratic congresswoman over a disputed scuffle at an immigration facility in New Jersey and openly threatening New York mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo and sitting Attorney General Letitia James, as well as indicting Wisconsin county Judge Hannah Dugan for interfering in an ICE arrest in her courtroom.
The Cuomo probe over truth of various Covid statements to Congress about nursing homes — often offered as part of criticism of Trump’s policies — comes in contrast to Trump administration moves to drop bribery charges against current Mayor Eric Adams in a questionable deal that involves his cooperation with moving against migrants in New York City. The James case is about allegations of personal fraud.
For one day, the prosecution focused on former FBI director James Comey over posting a silly photo of beach shells spelling out “86 47” that Trump insisted was a public call for his assassination before that mini brouhaha seemed to fade. Over years now, Comey and others who investigated Russian connections with the Trump campaigns have faced probes by justice and tax officials. If anything, Comey once again seemed guilty of inane social media posting than a plot to kill Donald Trump.
The Themes
The cases differ, of course, but the twin themes behind them continue to be retribution for having targeted Trump legally or for openly opposing his immigration and deportation policies. The targets are all political figures, all opponents, and all seemingly part of an effort to still voices of dissent.
Whatever had been predicted, feared, anticipated or even denied about a Justice Department retuned to drop what Trump criticized as “weaponization” against him is coming into sharper focus as prosecution on his behalf against his own declared enemies.
The felony charges of “assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement” on May 9 filed against Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-NJ, for some pushing that occurred when ICE officers responded to an attempt by her and two other congressmen who were not charged to inspect a new, private immigration holding facility near Newark, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka also was arrested for trespassing before U.S. Attorney Alina Habba dropped the case. In both cases, no one was hurt, there was no damage and there is plenty of video and witness statements that contradict the government criminal charges.
It should make is wonder why the U.S. Attorney can’t find stronger or more urgent crimes to investigate.
The charges were based on allegations of elbowing and pushing far less severe than anything on Jan. 6. 2021, involving thousands of Trump supporters — who were pardoned over similar interference charges.
The congressmen and mayor say they were at the facility for an hour with no incident waiting to be admitted for an inspection when 20 federal agents showed up, the visitors stepped outside, and there was scuffling.
A significant part of this prosecutorial passion comes with wider Trump administration disdain for the law and its due process procedures. That Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem was unable to correctly define to a congressional hearing that habeas corpus language as protection for those rounded up in immigration raids rather than as an administration tool for deporting people is part of the problem.
Deliberate Campaign
There seems nothing coincidental about the piling up of criminal investigations against political opponents. Trump promised to do so as retribution, and the Justice Department has been busy removing procedural obstacles to filing such charges even against sitting members of Congress.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Pam Bondi has eliminated whole areas of Justice that were pursuing Civil Rights cases and public interest frauds.
Still, there is a huge difference between the constant ridicule or social media post attack on opponents and using the Justice Department and FBI as personal enforcers. Trump, who has denounced his own prosecutions while he was a presidential candidate, is pursuing Cuomo one month before New York’s mayoral primary, and the Baraka dropped charge came as he is running for New Jersey governor.
Television news chats are filled with commentary and debate about the excesses of authoritarianism; the critics are alternately depicting or denying these incidents as a growing evidence of politicalized justice against perceived Trump enemies.
Somehow, whether there is enough evidence to persuade courts and juries of crimes is giving way to put-on displays of toughness against voices opposing Trump. The fear in turning Justice, the FBI and federal law enforcement over to loyalists rather than careerists was exactly that prosecutions would become another venue for politics, requiring heavy personal costs for defense and reputation based on shadows.
As with campuses targeted for unwanted protests over the Israel-Hamas war, the goal seems as much to shut down dissent as it does to respond to social policy complaints with law enforcement solutions.
Normal political speeches for Donald Trump are riddled with references to throwing people in jail or launching investigations of different sorts for those who do not agree with him.
The open question is whether public criticism in fact will be dampened, whether what is seen as intimidation serves Trump’s agenda, as it has with selected law firms and corporate leaders, who see staying in Trump’s good graces as more important to their financial survival than protest would allow.
The news is that we have now arrived at the point where these announced prosecutions are routine, generally to be followed by dismissal of cases when the cases arrive before a legal system that requires something more than bravado.
Welcome to our retributive future.
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