Should Trump Use DOJ Against His Enemies?
To restore the rule of law, Trump’s Department of Justice must investigate those who subverted our constitutional order. Accountability is not the same as revenge. If laws were broken, the wrongdoers must be held responsible.
This essay was co-authored with TJ Harker, a former federal prosecutor who lives in Knoxville. It first appeared on Tom Klingenstein‘s website (here). Thanks to Real Clear Policy!
Over the last four years, regime lawyers and government officials have repeatedly ignored the constitution, stretched the meaning of federal and state statutes, and shredded legal norms. They have investigated, prosecuted, and persecuted their political opponents. They did this to suppress those who challenged their rule and to send a message to would-be challengers.
With Donald Trump’s election and pending inauguration (assuming no shenanigans between now and then), unpleasant things will have to be done to hold these people to account. The regime’s aggressive lawlessness will require a response.
The response must balance the immediate need for accountability with the ultimate need for reconciliation. On the one hand, we must hold responsible those whose criminal conduct subverted our constitutional order. On the other, we must prepare to reconcile with the millions of Americans who erred grievously in supporting the regime’s lawlessness — at least with those people who are humble enough to acknowledge their error.
Equal justice under the law, an essential feature of the rule of law, means enforcing the law in an even-handed manner. Violators must be held responsible for their actions. This is not “retribution,” any more than arresting a thief or murderer constitutes retribution. All citizens are expected to obey the law. No one is above the law. Lady Justice is depicted wearing a blindfold, not so that she can ignore lawbreaking, but so she can mete out punishment regardless of the identity of the perpetrator. Over the past four years, the regime has applied the law in a one-sided manner — punishing political opponents (sometimes by fabricating crimes or seeking disproportionate punishment) while looking the other way as agents of the regime ran roughshod over legal norms. Many Americans lost respect for our legal system due to the unfair and unjust manner in which laws were enforced and violations were condoned.
With the inauguration of President Trump to his second term, the double standard must end. Those who violated the law during the Biden administration must be held to account. This is a necessary first step to restoring the rule of law, and, just as importantly, restoring public faith in equal justice under the law.
Indeed, fashioning an appropriate response will be the most important task of Trump’s first year. It will require an attorney general with the backbone to design and implement it. Here’s a sketch of how that might look.
Read the rest of this essay here.
