Trump’s 'cartoonishly savage' allies may turn DOJ into 'ruinous tool of autocracy': ex-federal prosecutor
During his 2024 campaign, Donald Trump was not shy about threatening retribution against his political foes. And according to Politico, the "enemies list" that the president-elect will bring to his second administration is quite extensive.
Potential targets, Politico reported, include, among others, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming), former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California), President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) and Trump's former personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen.
During a Thursday, November 7 appearance on MSNBC, former federal prosecutor Harry Litman warned that if Trump turns the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) into a "tool of autocracy," things could get ugly fast.
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Litman specifically mentioned far-right attorney Mike Davis, who is known for his extreme rhetoric and is being mentioned as a possible U.S. attorney general nominee.
Litman told host Ana Cabrera, "Now, Mike Davis has become almost cartoonishly savage here. He has talked about really a total blood-in-the-streets kind of war of retribution. I think the important point to notice, for starters: when the federal government trains its resources on you, it is ruinous — even if there is nothing there. Davis specifically talks about the financial cost. People…. have to lawyer up."
Another possible target of a Trump DOJ in 2025, according to Litman, is special counsel Jack Smith.
"Jack Smith has been a public servant all his life, and there is no real issue that he's committed any crimes," Litman told Cabrera. "But there is nothing to stop a corrupt — a corrupt in the sense of not going after the merits — DOJ from forcing him to have lawyer, defend himself in court. And it can be ruinous even if they don't ultimately succeed. This is the most concrete, scary sign to date that a democratic rule of law in the Department of Justice is about to be completely bulldozed and become a tool of autocracy for Donald Trump and petty revenge."
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Litman, during the segment, also discussed the 34 criminal counts that Justice Juan Merchan is scheduled to sentence Trump on. And he argued that there is "no reason" the State of New York "can't proceed" with the sentencing.
"However, once he becomes president, I think the federal courts would hold everything has to be put on ice," Litman told Cabrera. "So the question is: Can he persuade the judge not to pass sentence because it won't be able to be executed?"
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