Trump Tries to Take DOJ Weaponization to the Next Level… and Fails

Listen To This Story

It is certainly noteworthy that a federal grand jury refused to indict six Democratic lawmakers for saying something that is true, i.e., that US forces do not have to comply with illegal and unconstitutional orders. After all, federal prosecutors, at least those not working for Donald Trump, have a nearly perfect batting record in securing federal indictments. However, the real news here is that the Department of Justice tried to do this in the first place.

On the one hand, the effort is a shocking escalation of Trump’s attempt to weaponize DOJ to go after people who displease him.

Then again, it is not shocking at all because it certainly fits the mold of a wannabe fascist regime trying to use every lever of power to go after anybody who tries to resist – whether that’s a peaceful protester exercising their First Amendment rights or a group of opposition lawmakers stating a fact.

At the heart of this matter is a video that six Democrats, all of them veterans of the armed forces or the intelligence community, posted last year.

Stating that “threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home,” the lawmakers remind members of the military and the intelligence community that they “can refuse illegal orders.”

While that is unquestioningly true, it caused a Trumpian meltdown.

In social media posts, he not only demanded that the Democrats be prosecuted, he also amplified a call for them to be hanged.

While even loyalists like Attorney General Pam Bondi and Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro, who somehow now serves as the US attorney for the District of Columbia, don’t (yet) seem to be on board with an execution, which we presume would take place in the new ballroom or some other public forum, they dutifully tried to secure an indictment… and struck out spectacularly.

It is the latest, and most significant, in a string of such failures.

At Trump’s behest, DOJ has also pursued indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney Letitia James. Both of these cases were dismissed, but Bondi has apparently not given up yet.

Of course, even the threat of prosecution sends a chilling message.

But that’s the point, as Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), the most prominent of the six lawmakers, noted.

“This is an outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackeys,” Kelly said. “Donald Trump wants every American to be too scared to speak out against him. The most patriotic thing any of us can do is not back down.”

And that’s exactly what grand juries across the country, and especially in Washington, DC, have done.

Time and again, they have refused to go along with DOJ’s flimsy excuses to prosecute the president’s perceived adversaries or peaceful protesters.

They should serve as an example to all Americans on how to stand up to wannabe authoritarians who want to pervert the law to frighten their opposition into submission.