How Trump Uses the Justice Department as a Weapon and Shield in His Political Battles

The conflict between Republicans and Democrats has recently taken a sharp turn, with the judiciary being misused as a venue for political score-settling and mutual revenge, reaching its peak during the presidency of Donald Trump.

Throughout his political career, Trump has threatened to jail his rivals, beginning with chants of lock her up during his successful 2016 run against Democrat Hillary Clinton. 

Since returning to the White House last January, he has urged the Justice Department to take on perceived political enemies, raising concerns about undermining the principle of separation of powers.

In addition, his Republican supporters want to teach Democrats a lesson: “Whoever uses the law as a weapon will have the same weapon used against them.”

In this context, Trump called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to directly prosecute his political opponents, a move described as a serious violation of the separation of powers between the White House and the Department of Justice.

The Justice Department for the half-century since the Watergate scandal that felled former President Richard Nixon had kept an arm's length distance from the White House, intended to ensure that politics did not influence charging decisions. 

Trump has changed that, after alleging that the multiple prosecutions he faced in his four years out of power were politically motivated.

Two-Tiered Justice

US Attorney General Pam Bondi was questioned by the Senate on October 7, where several members accused her of turning her department into a tool used by Trump to target his opponents.

At the start of the questioning, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin, noted that under Bondi, the Justice Department has become a shield for Trump and his political allies when they misbehave.

He said that President Biden has never directed the Attorney General to prosecute his political opponents, and that what has happened since January 20, 2025, would have made even President Richard Nixon cringe.

Senators also questioned Bondi about the legal basis for Trump's deployment of the National Guard to Democratic-majority states where he said crime was rampant, a campaign opponents say is unconstitutional.

Bondi has also come under fire for her handling of files related to the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire sex trafficker who once had close ties to Trump.

Democrats accused Bondi of failing to uphold the independence of the Justice Department by allowing Trump to interfere in the prosecution of his opponents, including former FBI Director James Comey, who was recently indicted.

Republicans, in turn, accused the Biden administration's Justice Department of what they described as weaponizing justice, noting that special counsel Jack Smith obtained, under a court order, the communications records of eight Republican senators.

Bondi entered the hearing prepared to dodge Democratic questions about these matters, employing terse responses and personal attacks to confuse her opponents, according to CNN.

During the hearing, both sides traded accusations of double standards, with Sen. Mazie Hirono saying, “The double standard is evident at the Justice Department under Bondi.”

The secretary responded by saying, “You didn't complain when the Biden administration was targeting Trump, but the American people have spoken, and the era of two-tiered justice is over.”

Prosecutions

Trump repeatedly warned during his 2024 campaign that he would pursue his political opponents.

Trump has consistently supported Bondi for months, despite criticism from his political base of her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein cases and her recent comments about pursuing legal action against hate speech following the murder of activist Charlie Kirk.

But last month, Trump pressured the attorney general to prosecute political opponents, including two Democratic senators accused of corruption, emphasizing the need for justice now.

In a post likely directed at Bondi, Trump criticized on his Truth Social platform the delay in potential prosecutions against Sen. Adam Schiff of California and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

James was recently indicted on charges of lying on a mortgage application, and the Justice Department opened a criminal probe into Schiff. 

James, a staunch Trump critic, had previously imposed a hefty $500 million fine on the president before he returned to the White House for fraudulent bank loan applications.

However, the New York State Court of Appeals overturned the ruling in late August, deeming the fine excessive.

Trump noted that he had read dozens of letters calling for the prosecution of Schiff and James, as well as former FBI Director James Comey, whom he accused of lying to Congress.

Trump also noted that he had fired the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, who was facing pressure over investigations into two of the Republican president's political rivals.

He later announced Seibert's replacement with Lindsey Halligan, a special assistant to Trump with no prior prosecutorial experience, arguing that Bondi needed a tough prosecutor at her side to effect change.

After Halligan was sworn in last week, the Virginia Attorney General's Office reopened the case against Comey.

On October 8, Comey pleaded not guilty in a federal court in Virginia at his arraignment in a case that followed calls by Trump to prosecute him.

Comey's daughter, a former federal prosecutor who was fired from the Justice Department last July, attended the court hearing in support of her father.

Democrats have strongly criticized the accusations, with Sen. Mark Warner saying Trump is using the Justice Department as a weapon against his opponents.

Comey led the investigation into the Trump campaign's possible collusion with Russia during the 2016 election, a case Trump has strongly rejected as a political conspiracy aimed at undermining his victory.

Comey’s case is the largest legal action the Trump administration has taken against a senior official publicly targeted by the president.

Legal experts believe the chances of such prosecutions are extremely slim, given their clearly political nature and the lack of new evidence that could prove Comey committed perjury.

A group of former federal judges recently warned that the case against Comey poses a grave threat to the rights and liberties of all Americans, considering that President Trump continues to corruptly abuse his power.

Large-Scale Dismissals

During Trump's first term, then-Rep. Adam Schiff led the impeachment process in his first impeachment trial.

The Senate later acquitted Trump, and then again in 2021, after a second impeachment trial.

Trump wrote on his platform: “I have been impeached twice and indicted five times! For nothing. Justice must be served now.”

Last January, the US president was convicted without penalty of concealing a payment to a porn actress.

Early last September, a New York appeals court upheld a ruling ordering Trump to pay $83.3 million to author E. Jean Carroll in a defamation lawsuit related to rape allegations.

When he was re-elected, most investigations accusing Trump of mishandling classified documents were dropped after he left the White House, as well as of attempting to change the results of the 2020 presidential election.

In July, the Associated Press reported that the Justice Department had fired additional prosecutors and support staff who worked on special counsel Jack Smith's prosecution of Trump.

These dismissals are part of a broader wave of dismissals that have rocked the department for months, targeting employees who worked on cases involving Trump and his supporters.

Last January, the Justice Department announced it had fired more than a dozen prosecutors who worked on Trump's prosecutions.

Last June, the department fired at least three prosecutors involved in criminal cases related to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

These unprecedented steps occurred despite the fact that tradition typically protects prosecutors working at the department from any sanction during presidential transitions, even if they are involved in sensitive investigations.

Former US Attorney for Washington, D.C., Ashley Akers said the current administration is sending a message that the Justice Department is now politicized and partisan, noting the Justice Department's alarming lack of independence.

In 2023, Smith's team filed separate indictments accusing Trump of stockpiling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, as well as conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Neither case went to trial. The Supreme Court significantly narrowed the issue of election interference in a ruling that said former presidents enjoy broad immunity from prosecution for their official actions.

A Trump-appointed judge dismissed the classified documents case, holding that Smith's appointment as special counsel was illegal.