I joined
to talk about how this might have been one of the most important — and perhaps alarming — weeks yet of the Justice Department becoming Trump’s “personal enforcer” by stopping investigations into his friends and spinning up new ones into his foes.This week alone, Trump’s DOJ filed misconduct charges against a judge overseeing deportation cases; fired top officials investigating monopolies; dropped prosecutions against a MAGA megadonor; “lost” whistleblower evidence against a federal judge nominee; opened an ideological inquisition into George Mason University; and purged dozens of career civil servants. If you need a mental image for all of this, it’s political warfare in a trench coat.
Here are the stories we covered in the conversation and a few we didn’t.
DOJ targets a sitting federal judge
Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a formal misconduct complaint against Chief Judge James Boasberg, accusing him of “improper” comments about Trump’s deportation policies. A lot of observers called the complaint absurd. The judge’s real offense was that he openly warned that the administration was disregarding court orders and risking a constitutional crisis. Trump wants him impeached for it. And Bondi is following through.
Case against Trump donor quietly dropped
FAT Brands CEO Andy Wiederhorn — a major Trump donor accused of misusing $47 million — had his charges dropped after the White House fired the career prosecutor handling his case. Wiederhorn’s lawyer praised DOJ for “listening.” Others called it the clearest signal yet that MAGA money buys MAGA mercy.
DOJ conveniently “lost” a whistleblower complaint against Trump’s most controversial nominee
The DOJ’s Inspector General admitted it misplaced a whistleblower complaint showing that federal judge nominee Emil Bove instructed DOJ lawyers to lie in court and defy a deportation order. The complaint sat uninvestigated for nearly three months. Then it didn’t see the light of day until, conveniently, just hours before Bove was confirmed to a lifetime judgeship.
More purges of DOJ civil servants
Several more Justice Department civil servants were unceremoniously tossed out of the building, adding to the more than 200 career officials (including immigration judges, forensic accountants, prosecutors, etc.) who have been fired so far this year. One DOJ lawyer was terminated after refusing to lie to a judge. Another was purged because her husband built an app critical of ICE. One immigration judge was fired just months before her pension vested. The reasons? None given.
Antitrust officials axed amid corporate investigations
Two top DOJ antitrust officials were dismissed for “insubordination” amid tension over probes into Apple, Google, T-Mobile, and others. They had reportedly resisted political pressure to go easy on certain corporate targets, so they were shown the door. Yet another signal that the DOJ is aggressively leaning into “selective justice” as the new watchwords of the Department.
George Mason University targeted in Trump’s anti-woke cleanse
In a chilling escalation, DOJ’s Civil Rights Division opened an investigation into George Mason University simply for promoting diversity under its first Black president. After the faculty senate defended him, DOJ demanded all communications related to their resolution. Re-read that, seriously. The Justice Department is opening federal investigations into universities merely for defending their leadership and touting diversity.
It’s only Thursday morning as I write this. And I shudder to think what might happen later today and tomorrow.
(P.S. Thank you
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