The role of the White House in prosecuting the “hacks and radicals” that investigated the president’s probes of the FBI and DOJ
Some of his friends in leadership positions have been put in place. Trump ally Pam Bondi is leading the department as attorney general. Last month, the Senate — where Republicans are the majority — confirmed Kash Patel as FBI director. The “deep state” has been promoted by a man who is a critic of the FBI and DOJ.
The visit on Friday is the result of several weeks of trying to restructure the department, demoting attorneys who worked on cases and firing officials who investigated the president.
A year ago, the president faced two special counsel investigations about his actions after the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The DOJ dropped the cases after Trump won the election, in line with its longstanding stance that a sitting president can’t be prosecuted.
President Trump criticized former officials and lawyers who investigated him in a speech at the Department of Justice.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Trump will also discuss “ending the weaponization of justice against Americans for their political leanings.”
“I think we have unbelievable people, and all I’m going to do is set out my vision. It’s going to be their vision, really, but it’s my ideas,” he told reporters at the White House on Thursday.
The address on law and order had been billed by the White House. Trump made a announcement about a new advertising campaign to fight Fentanyl use. But he spent the majority of his time on stage going after the “hacks and radicals” in the U.S. government who he said eroded trust.
Trump called out former Attorney General Merrick Garland, Marc Elias, a lawyer who worked against Trump’s legal efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and Mark Pomerantz, a lawyer who investigated Trump’s business practices, calling them “really bad people.”
Trump said he had appointed “patriotic tough on crime warriors” to the DOJ. He said he would revive the 1033 program, which gives excess military equipment to state and local law enforcement.
In his speech on Friday, Trump boasted that his administration stripped security clearances from others who have investigated him, including Special Counsel Jack Smith, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump has also revoked security clearance and intelligence briefings for former President Joe Biden.
Trump also went after the press, and said coverage of Judge Aileen Cannon should have been “illegal.” Cannon, appointed by Trump, threw out the federal case that accused Trump of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
I’m going to take a pass, but what I don’t know when I’ll tell you. Why I haven’t seen anything yet in the last few years
Everyone is vain. They don’t want to lose their look. The look is important. He said that if they see these things, they might say, “I’m going to take a pass.”