Justice Department and FBI officials began consulting with lawyers, fearing they would be prosecuted when Donald Trump is returning to the White House, it has been reported.
These concerns were driven by Trump’s promise to seek “retaliation” against members of a “deep state” who he said had deliberately sought to undermine him when he was president and who he said would have been used as a weapon against him after he left office.
They were intensified by the president-elect’s nomination of the former right-wing congressman from Florida. Matt Gaetz as Attorney Generala position that would put him at the head of the Department of Justice and US federal law enforcement.
Gaetz – who himself was the subject of a two-year FBI investigation into sex trafficking allegations that ended without charges – was chosen after reportedly told Trump that he would “go over there and start cutting off fucking heads.” He previously called for “total pressure against this ARMED government” in a social media post.
“If that means abolishing all three agencies, from the FBI to the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives), I’m ready to go!” he continued.
The threats have prompted serving and retired officials to contact defense attorneys, even if they are convinced they have committed no crime, NBC reported.
Several Justice Department officials wept after Trump’s resounding election victory. Kamala Harris, according to the network, upset that many Americans believed his narrative that the department had been corrupted and used as a weapon to carry out a political witch hunt against him.
“Everything we did was beyond reproach,” said a former senior FBI official who began consulting a lawyer for fear of prosecution. “But it’s a different world.”
A former senior Justice Department official who served during Trump’s first presidency said the choice of Gaetz was a mark of the new president’s seriousness in seeking revenge against those he said had wronged him. wrong.
“He has to be able to control the department, which he can do through a loyal (attorney general) who is accountable to him,” the former official said. “(Gaetz) understands that he owes everything to Trump, who can also protect Gaetz with his pardon power. Trump is confident that Gaetz will do whatever Trump tells him to do.
Trump is angry with the Justice Department after filing a lawsuit over its attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which he falsely claimed was stolen. She also investigated his improper withholding of classified documents from his presidency, which he kept at his home in Mar-a-Lago.
Charges from the two investigations were incorporated into an investigation led by special prosecutor Jack Smith, appointed by current Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Trump has assaulted Smith on several occasions and during the election campaign he demanded his expulsion from the country.
The president-elect also continues to be angry over allegations that he colluded with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election, which prompted an investigation by another special prosecutor, Robert Mueller.
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Trump allies have suggested that Smith in particular could be investigated over an accusation he made against Trump: anti-rights conspiracy.
Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University, told NBC there was little possibility of prosecuting Smith on such a charge. However, he said prosecutors could investigate individuals over a long period of time and uncover minor crimes unrelated to the original charges.
“If you think about it, a majority of adult Americans have probably broken federal laws, like smoking marijuana, at some point in their lives,” he said.
During the campaign, Trump repeatedly said the attorney general pick would be his most important cabinet appointment.
Observers say his goal is to assert control over the Justice Department, which has traditionally been seen as politically independent of White House meddling since Watergate.
Stephen Gillers, an ethics professor at New York University Law School, said Trump’s goal was to end that independence.
“Trump aims to neutralize sources of power that could stand in his way,” he told NBC. “This includes the law and legal institutions. He will not tolerate interference when departmental decisions benefit Trump and his friends or when his power can be used to retaliate against his enemies.”