Trump Has Officially Weaponized the Justice Department to Go After His Rivals

President Trump has been trying to discredit the Justice Department’s investigation into his campaign’s relationship with Russia for most of his presidency. His attempts to do so have mostly come through his Twitter account and yelling over Marine One on the White House lawn. But when Attorney General William Barr took over the Justice Department in February, it quickly became clear federal law enforcement resources would be used to go after the people who conducted the probe.

It didn’t take long. When Special Counsel Robert Mueller released his findings in April, Trump and Barr teamed up to misrepresent them. The following month, Barr tapped a John H. Durham, a U.S. attorney in Connecticut, to look into the origins of the investigation. Now, the New York Times reported on Thursday, Durham’s inquiry is no longer just an inquiry; it’s officially a full-scale criminal investigation.

In other words, the Justice Department is now investigating itself in service of the president’s political agenda.

When asked about the investigation Friday morning, Trump called Barr a “highly prestigious man” while defending the move to pursue criminal charges. “I think you’re gonna see a lot of really bad things,” he said.

Link to tweet