New York Times: Trump turns justice into revenge and boasts about it

For President Donald Trump, justice has become revenge, and he boasts of using law enforcement to go after his opponents and critics and to protect his supporters and sycophants.

As he prepares to mark the first anniversary of his return to the White House, President Trump has spent this week using the Justice Department’s broad powers as a tool to serve his personal and political interests, according to an op-ed.

The New York Times reviewed some of the features of this political use of justice, including the opening of a criminal investigation against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the search of the home of a Washington Post reporter, and the creation of a White House anti-fraud unit to facilitate partisanly motivated prosecutions.

Features of Trump’s political use of justice include opening a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, searching the home of a Washington Post reporter, and establishing a White House anti-fraud unit to facilitate partisanly motivated prosecutions.

The New York Times called for the rejection of those practices, saying that President Trump’s overreach of law enforcement powers threatens everyone, that his interference with the independence of the Federal Reserve undermines the economy, and that his targeting of members of Congress and the media threatens freedom of speech and government accountability.

The New York Times added that President Trump’s quest to control investigations and prosecutions will turn the country into a tool to serve the interests of the ruling administration rather than enforcing the laws enacted by the representatives of the American people.

A year into the start of Trump’s second term, America is in danger of losing a key feature of its democracy: a country governed by the law, not ruled by one man.

The New York Times noted that people have lost faith in the Justice Department because of President Trump’s actions and cited what happened in Minnesota when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Renee Goode.

Under the administration of any other president in the modern era, it makes sense for the government to conduct a thorough investigation to determine whether the client has acted correctly.

Under the current administration, the outcome was already decided, with President Trump promoting a misleading account of the incident and ordering the Justice Department to open an investigation into Renee Good and her partner for their political activism.

The Trump administration has undermined the justice system and turned what is left of it into a tool to satisfy Trump’s personal and political whims, and his supporters are protected and amnestied.

Those who threaten his interests face the risk of retaliation from federal law enforcement.

Regarding the Jerome Powell investigation, the New York Times said its goal is Trump’s desire to appoint officials who are abandoning traditions of independence from partisan politics and cutting interest rates quickly to stimulate the economy ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

In another transgression, federal agents searched the home of Hannah Nathanson, a Washington Post reporter, and confiscated her phone as part of an investigation into a leak that the New York Times called a violation of the law aimed at intimidating journalists and restricting press freedom by instilling fear in sources and making them reluctant to speak to journalists.

Nathanson has helped uncover some of the negative consequences of the Trump administration’s policies.

The New York Times reviewed the list of Trump critics and opponents who are facing or have faced legal action, including Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, former FBI Director James Comey, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California.

In return, a number of real criminals who flatter President Trump have been granted a presidential pardon, and investigations into suspicious behavior by those close to him have been canceled or not investigated in the first place.

To take control of the Justice Department, more than 200 lawyers have been fired from the department’s permanent lawyers, while thousands more have resigned, to which one lawyer commented that the department is no longer the Justice Department, but has become Trump’s personal law firm.

Another excess, which was spotted by the New York Times, was the White House’s decision to create a new anti-fraud division, which would be another tool used by the Trump administration for political reasons, focusing on Democratic-controlled states.

Despite all this, the newspaper sees signs of resistance to turning justice into a tool of revenge, citing a number of House and Senate Republicans saying they don’t believe Jerome Powell is a criminal, while Senator Tom Tillis has said he would oppose installing any Fed governor until the investigation into Powell is over.

The New York Times called on the congressional establishment to intervene and put an end to this destruction of the justice system and turning it into a tool of self-interest.