Emily Bazelon on the Trump Administration's Impact on DOJ Independence

Shift in DOJ's Role and Independence

• 💡 The administration views the Justice Department as a tool of the White House, a radical shift from the post-Watergate era's emphasis on nonpartisan operations.
• 🧠 This change stems from President Trump's intense sense of grievance about past investigations, leading to a sea change in how the department operates.
• 📊 A survey of former DOJ officials revealed a bipartisan consensus that Trump and his Attorney General have used the DOJ to target enemies and favor allies.

Erosion of Norms and Bipartisan Consensus

• ⚠️ Former DOJ officials, both Republican and Democrat, expressed alarm at the battering of career staff and the sustained effort to move away from nonpartisan operations.
• 🏛️ While presidents have always influenced policy, a bright line existed regarding criminal prosecutions of political figures, which is now blurred.
• 📉 The erosion of norms has left institutions with little to rely on to ensure they snap back into place after being shattered.

Resignations and Civil Rights Division Decline

• 🚨 Multiple waves of resignations have occurred, including over the US Attorney's office in Manhattan being ordered to drop a case for political reasons and the Minneapolis prosecutors' resignations over the Renee Good shooting investigation.
• 📉 The Civil Rights Division has been decimated, with a significant percentage of lawyers leaving and a shift away from traditional civil rights litigation.
• 🚫 The DOJ's refusal to investigate the ICE agent in the Renee Good case, and the direction of the investigation focusing on the victim's wife and activists, has led to prosecutors walking away.

Legal Backstops and Judicial Influence

• ⚖️ While district and appeals courts have pushed back against some Trump administration policies, the Supreme Court has been less active in this regard.
• 🏛️ A Supreme Court ruling on the Insurrection Act highlighted the technical reasons courts may intervene, but the statute itself grants broad presidential power.
• ❓ The role of bar associations in policing the legal profession and holding individuals accountable for misrepresenting facts in court is questioned, with a perceived lack of action.

Powell Investigation and Politicization of Justice

• ⚡ The investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is seen as unprecedented and politicized, with Powell himself stating it's a consequence of the Fed setting interest rates independently.
• 📉 The cost of being investigated is enormous, exerting stress, consuming time, and creating a cloud of suspicion, which discourages public service.
• 🎯 The administration's use of investigations and prosecutions is seen as a way to bolster unrelated agency policies and exert pressure, a departure from expected norms.