#4: Politicizing the Justice Department
Trump politicized the Justice Department and FBI from the very start of his presidency until the final days. He repeatedly crossed lines and violated norms that have been in place since Watergate to create independence between the White House and federal law enforcement.
“It’s extremely important for the integrity of American democracy that the president cannot manipulate law enforcement for partisan, political, self-interested preferences,” said Rick Pildes, a former CNN legal analyst who teaches at New York University. “Trump constantly agitated to eliminate the boundaries between a President and the DOJ, which was incredibly disturbing.”
The experts ranked this among Trump’s worst abuses because his goal was often to twist the Justice Department to serve his own needs – not the national interest. A clear pattern emerged where Trump leaned on law enforcement to protect him and his allies, and to harass his critics. This created a tense atmosphere with some resignations and public rebukes.
POLITICIZING THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Donald Trump laments he’s ‘not supposed’ to influence DOJ, FBI
Trump demands Justice Department examine whether it or FBI spied on campaign
FBI agents warn of ‘chilling effect’ from Trump and Barr attacks
All 4 federal prosecutors quit Stone case after DOJ overrules prosecutors on sentencing request
During his four years, Trump publicly urged the FBI to investigate more than two dozen of his perceived opponents, including several Democratic lawmakers, some of the prosecutors and FBI officials involved in the Russia investigation, Biden’s son Hunter Biden, the tech company Google, and even the author of the infamous 2018 “anonymous” op-ed in The New York Times.
While most of these abuses were rhetorical in nature, he took some overt actions that triggered scrutiny from criminal investigators, like his 2017 firing of then-FBI Director James Comey, which led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
“By politicizing (the Justice Department) now, and frankly by engaging in a lot of conduct that appears to be illegal, President Trump undermined the ability of the department to proceed in a clear way going forward,” said Lisa Manheim, a University of Washington law professor who specializes in constitutional issues and co-wrote a 2018 book about the limits of presidential power.
Trump politicized the Justice Department and FBI from the very start of his presidency until the final days. He repeatedly crossed lines and violated norms that have been in place since Watergate to create independence between the White House and federal law enforcement.
“It’s extremely important for the integrity of American democracy that the president cannot manipulate law enforcement for partisan, political, self-interested preferences,” said Rick Pildes, a former CNN legal analyst who teaches at New York University. “Trump constantly agitated to eliminate the boundaries between a President and the DOJ, which was incredibly disturbing.”
The experts ranked this among Trump’s worst abuses because his goal was often to twist the Justice Department to serve his own needs – not the national interest. A clear pattern emerged where Trump leaned on law enforcement to protect him and his allies, and to harass his critics. This created a tense atmosphere with some resignations and public rebukes.
POLITICIZING THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Donald Trump laments he’s ‘not supposed’ to influence DOJ, FBI
Trump demands Justice Department examine whether it or FBI spied on campaign
FBI agents warn of ‘chilling effect’ from Trump and Barr attacks
All 4 federal prosecutors quit Stone case after DOJ overrules prosecutors on sentencing request
During his four years, Trump publicly urged the FBI to investigate more than two dozen of his perceived opponents, including several Democratic lawmakers, some of the prosecutors and FBI officials involved in the Russia investigation, Biden’s son Hunter Biden, the tech company Google, and even the author of the infamous 2018 “anonymous” op-ed in The New York Times.
While most of these abuses were rhetorical in nature, he took some overt actions that triggered scrutiny from criminal investigators, like his 2017 firing of then-FBI Director James Comey, which led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
“By politicizing (the Justice Department) now, and frankly by engaging in a lot of conduct that appears to be illegal, President Trump undermined the ability of the department to proceed in a clear way going forward,” said Lisa Manheim, a University of Washington law professor who specializes in constitutional issues and co-wrote a 2018 book about the limits of presidential power.
