Weaponizing the Department of Justice

When Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell did not lower interest rates as Trump demanded (Trump posted that Powell was a “TOTAL LOSER” and “TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL, to have the job”), Trump’s DOJ opened criminal investigations into Powell’s testimony about a building renovation. In March, a judge blocked subpoenas because “their dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell,” and “the Government has offered no evidence whatsoever Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President.” Rather than appealing, Trump’s attorneys dropped the case and said the judge should therefore vacate the ruling. The judge answered that if “the Government got its way here, then any party that lost a court case could choose to … erase an unfavorable decision.” While presidents are forbidden to use the DOJ for political purposes, targeting Powell also violated Trump’s own executive order “Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government,” signed his first day in…