Donald Trump is working feverishly to turn the country into a place where corruption thrives, as cronies are rewarded and enemies are punished by the state.
More alarming, many of his federal appointees, conservative U.S. Supreme Court members, and elected Republicans seem eager to help him.
Trump took to social media last week to urge Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after his political opponents. His malicious call to action came after the U.S. attorney in Virginia, a career prosecutor who Trump nominated earlier this year, resigned under pressure for failing to criminally charge former FBI director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.).
Comey (who was hastily indicted Thursday) and James both investigated Trump, who was criminally indicted four times and convicted once in different state and federal courts. Schiff spearheaded Trump’s first impeachment and served on the committee that found he incited the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
“They’re all guilty as hell,” Trump wrote on social media, without providing any evidence.
On Thursday, the New York Times reported that billionaire George Soros, a backer of progressive causes, was also a target. The directive by a U.S. Department of Justice official to investigate a Soros-funded group even listed charges prosecutors could file.
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All of this runs counter to the rule of law as well as long-standing Justice Department policies designed to prevent the prosecution of individuals for political purposes. While Bondi is a political appointee, the department’s independence is a cornerstone of American democracy.
At her confirmation hearing, Bondi pledged not to investigate political enemies. But so far, she has been more loyal to Trump than to the Constitution.
In a matter of months, the Justice Department’s independence has been obliterated as it has launched numerous investigations aimed at Trump’s perceived enemies as part of his promised retribution campaign.
The FBI raided John Bolton’s home last month, searching for classified documents. Bolton served as national security adviser during Trump’s first term, but was fired. He then wrote a book that detailed instances of corruption within the Trump White House, and said obstruction was “a way of life.”
Trump directed the Justice Department to investigate Miles Taylor and Chris Krebs, two aides from his first administration.
What were their alleged crimes?
Taylor, a senior official in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, wrote an op-ed in 2018 detailing a quiet resistance within the first administration. Trump suggested he committed treason.
Krebs, a lifelong Republican who ran Trump’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, refuted baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
Trump also ordered the Justice Department to investigate ActBlue, a main fundraising platform for Democratic candidates. He threatened to investigate Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor, and accused former President Barack Obama of treason — but offered no evidence.
Trump has also gone after law firms, universities, and media organizations — pressing for payments, cutting off government funds, and filing flimsy lawsuits — as part of a broad attack on any group he views as not properly supportive of him.
The pressure campaign aimed at Jimmy Kimmel, and before that, Stephen Colbert, is part of a petty assault aimed at quieting all dissent, even from comedians.
Trump called critical media coverage of him “illegal” and said protesters who chanted at him in a restaurant should be prosecuted.
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Trump’s crackdown on political enemies and free speech makes Richard Nixon look like a jackleg.
But much worse is how others in power fail to uphold their sworn duty and hold Trump accountable, let alone dare speak up.
In fact, the right-wing majority on the Supreme Court unleashed this antidemocratic monster when it ruled last year that presidents are essentially above the law. Since then, the high court has kept ruling in Trump’s favor, but without offering any explanation.
Apparently, the president can now summarily kill alleged drug traffickers — blowing up boats in the Caribbean — without producing any evidence.
This is not how the rule of law works.
Legal scholars believe Trump has committed anywhere from three to eight impeachable offenses. Free Speech for Free People, a nonprofit dedicated to rooting out big money in politics, has identified 25 grounds for impeachment.
Meanwhile, the Republicans in Congress confirmed all of Trump’s blatantly unqualified appointees and continue to rubber-stamp whatever he wants — even if it means taking away healthcare from supporters, adding trillions to the deficit, and blowing up long-standing congressional rules.
The founders’ system of checks and balances has essentially been replaced with governance by the three wise monkeys who see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.
Who needs government oversight, food safety inspections, worker safety protections, or environmental regulations?
Amid the chaos and democratic unraveling is a mad dash to line pockets.
The Trump family has made an astonishing $3.4 billion since he first entered the White House. Another $5 billion in paper profits were added after a recent crypto launch.
An undercover FBI sting last year ensnared Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, accepting a $50,000 bag of cash in return for allegedly promising to help with government contracts. Once Trump moved back into the Oval Office, the investigation was closed.
Nothing to see here.