Why is a multistory photo of Donald John Trump hanging from the rafters of the Justice Department? The Founder John Adams wrote in the months before the Declaration of Independence ours was to be a nation “of laws, and not of men” (Letter of John Adams to Abigail Adams, April 1776).
Hanging a huge photo of Mr. Trump on the face of the Justice Department Kim Jung Un style conveys the opposite: a government of one man, not of laws. The norm followed by every other President was to respect the independence of the Justice Department in its prosecutorial judgements. For example, when President Biden was faced with the indictment of his son, he announced he was taking a “hands-off approach.” The DOJ Manual still states (now honored only in the breach): “The rule of law depends upon the evenhanded administration of justice. The legal judgements of the Department of Justice must be impartial and insulated from political influence.”
Yet, the Trump Justice Department (the one with his picture on it) is weaponized against innocent people and law firms he does not like. Mr. Trump as we know issued an executive order barring the prominent DC law firm Perkins Coie from entering federal buildings to represent their clients. Perkins Coie and three other law firms summoned the courage to sue. The Trump Justice Department defended but lost all four cases. One Judge likened Mr. Trump’s attitude to Shakespeare’s Dick the Butcher: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” The district courts ruled Mr. Trump violated the law firms’ constitutional rights. The Justice Department decided not to appeal because the case law is settled. However, Mr. Trump declared: “I never signed off on that!” He ordered the Justice Department to reinstate the appeals regardless of its independent judgement.
The upside: the four district court opinions will almost certainly be affirmed by the DC Circuit and create binding precedent. The Supreme Court then would be likely to decline to take the cases up because the case law is settled. The administration cannot punish law firms for their points of view, their speech, or violate their right to due process of law before a deprivation of their interests.
Mr. Trump’s order for the Justice Department to proceed nonetheless recalls the words of a former dictator of Peru, Oscar Penavides. Penavides promised: “For my friends, everything. For my enemies the law!” ("Para mis amigos, todo; para mis enemigos, la ley!"). Under Mr. Trump our nation has descended from John Adams’ promise for a nation “of laws, and not of men” to the level of lawless threats one expects of a South American dictator.
The Trump Justice Department also failed to obtain indictments against six sitting members of Congress for their video reminding servicemen not to follow illegal orders. It similarly failed to obtain indictments against Former FBI Director James Comey and NY Attorney General Letitia James. The New York Times noted the cases were all brought just to satisfy Mr. Trump’s “well-known desire for revenge.”
Later, when the effort against the six Congressmen failed for lack of probable cause, Secretary of Defense Hegseth attempted to strip Senator Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain and astronaut, of his military pension. A US District Court stopped that effort as vengeful and unconstitutional. Similarly, a DC District Judge on March 13 quashed grand jury subpoenas to the Federal Reserve because their real “purpose is to harass and pressure [Jerome] Powell to yield to the President or resign”—an improper purpose threatening the independence of the Federal Reserve. Is vengeful use of justice what Republicans want? If not, say something.
To date the Justice system has held. It must continue to hold. Madison, the primary author of the Constitution, observed in Federalist No. 10, the checks and balances provided by the Constitution’s separation of powers are there because, “enlightened statesmen will not aways be at the helm.” There is no enlightened stateman at the helm. The checks and balances are all that we have left to keep our democracy.
It is vital that we as citizens speak out as advocates for the Constitution. Start with a bipartisan demand to remove the offensive image of Mr. Trump from the rafters of the Justice Department—the administration of justice under law is not his personal fiefdom. No one should fall into the bottomless pit of his ego. Insist on the traditional independence of the Department of Justice to evaluate its cases to make professional decisions as to what the facts and the law require. Also, insist the President respect the independence of the DOJ and of the Courts so ours is as John Adams intended a “nation of laws, and not of men.”
Robert P. Wise is a Northsider.
