Trump's War on Prosecutors: A Whac-A-Mole Showdown
President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, recently downplayed her boss's obsession with revenge. "I don't think he wakes up thinking about retribution," she said. But the reality is that Trump is hell-bent on targeting his adversaries, no matter how futile it may seem.
The quest for indictments against high-profile figures like New York State Attorney General Letitia James and former Special Counsel Jack Smith has turned the Justice Department into a legal "Whac-A-Mole" machine. Every time one investigation stalls, another takes its place, fueled by Trump's relentless pursuit of revenge. The billable hours are piling up for prosecutors as they scramble to keep up with Trump's antics.
Take the case of Letitia James's longtime hairdresser, who was indicted in Louisiana for bank fraud involving a Land Rover purchase. Now, federal prosecutors want to question her about $36,000 in payments from James's 2018 campaign – a move that has been dismissed as an attempt to "shake down people based on their association" with the AG.
Trump's Pardon Attorney and director of the unironically named Weaponization Working Group at the Department of Justice is pushing many of these investigations. He has been photographed near James's home in Brooklyn, sparking accusations of harassment. Even judges are starting to take notice – one judge barred Trump's handpicked U.S. Attorney from the Letitia James investigation due to "unlawful" appointment.
Despite these setbacks, Trump remains undeterred. His latest target is former Special Counsel Jack Smith, who has been testifying under oath about his involvement in cases against Trump for the January 6 attack on the Capitol and classified documents seized at Mar-a-Lago. However, his testimony was kept behind closed doors until New Year's Eve – a move that some see as an attempt to suppress information.
The war of words between Trump and his prosecutors is far from over. As one defense attorney noted, "When your client's hairstylist needs a lawyer, Trump's vendetta has officially become a full-employment program for high-end criminal lawyers." The question remains: will anyone ever be able to stop Trump's relentless pursuit of revenge?
President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, recently downplayed her boss's obsession with revenge. "I don't think he wakes up thinking about retribution," she said. But the reality is that Trump is hell-bent on targeting his adversaries, no matter how futile it may seem.
The quest for indictments against high-profile figures like New York State Attorney General Letitia James and former Special Counsel Jack Smith has turned the Justice Department into a legal "Whac-A-Mole" machine. Every time one investigation stalls, another takes its place, fueled by Trump's relentless pursuit of revenge. The billable hours are piling up for prosecutors as they scramble to keep up with Trump's antics.
Take the case of Letitia James's longtime hairdresser, who was indicted in Louisiana for bank fraud involving a Land Rover purchase. Now, federal prosecutors want to question her about $36,000 in payments from James's 2018 campaign – a move that has been dismissed as an attempt to "shake down people based on their association" with the AG.
Trump's Pardon Attorney and director of the unironically named Weaponization Working Group at the Department of Justice is pushing many of these investigations. He has been photographed near James's home in Brooklyn, sparking accusations of harassment. Even judges are starting to take notice – one judge barred Trump's handpicked U.S. Attorney from the Letitia James investigation due to "unlawful" appointment.
Despite these setbacks, Trump remains undeterred. His latest target is former Special Counsel Jack Smith, who has been testifying under oath about his involvement in cases against Trump for the January 6 attack on the Capitol and classified documents seized at Mar-a-Lago. However, his testimony was kept behind closed doors until New Year's Eve – a move that some see as an attempt to suppress information.
The war of words between Trump and his prosecutors is far from over. As one defense attorney noted, "When your client's hairstylist needs a lawyer, Trump's vendetta has officially become a full-employment program for high-end criminal lawyers." The question remains: will anyone ever be able to stop Trump's relentless pursuit of revenge?