Latest news with #weaponization
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump's 'enemies list' of celebrities and politicians he is targeting and what could happen to them
After winning reelection vowing to end the 'weaponization' of government even while promising 'retribution,' President Donald Trump has amassed a growing 'enemies list' of targets for investigation. Many have criticized Trump publicly or backed his political opponents. Some have issued comments Trump's defenders consider vicious threats. All could have to brace for government probes, unless it turns out the president was merely trying to get a rise out of them through his online threats. Trump continues to re-litigate the 2024 election, which he won, even as he continues to rail against the 2020 election, which he didn't. 'How much did Kamala Harris pay Bruce Springsteen for his poor performance during her campaign for president,' Trump wrote. 'Why did he accept that money if he is such a fan of hers? Isn't that a major and illegal campaign contribution? What about Beyonce? And how much went to Oprah, and Bono???' 'I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter. Candidates aren't allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment,' Trump said. Trump's hit on the Boss came after Springsteen, during a concert in Manchester, England branded him 'corrupt, incompetent and treasonous.' Springsteen has for years lent his Jersey-twanged voice to Democrats, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Celebs including Oprah Winfrey have knocked down Trump's accusation, which he offered without providing evidence. A statement from Winfrey said she didn't get any 'personal fee' after disclosure reports revealed hefty production fees. 'However, the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story,' she wrote on Instagram. Prior to Trump's insinuation against Springsteen and Winfrey, he tore into Taylor Swift. 'Has anyone noticed that, since I said 'I hate Taylor Swift,' she's no longer HOT?' Trump asked online. Trump has brought back some of his political nemeses from his first term at the start of his second, railing against Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and former FBI Director James Comey. Trump's allies pounced after Comey posted a photograph of shells on beach sand spelling out '86 47.' The former lawman denied the image had anything to do with a physical threat against the president, calling it 'totally innocent.' But he was questioned by members of the U.S. Secret Service. In early May, Trump called New York AG Letitia James a 'horrible, horrible human being' as well as a 'total crook' and a 'sick person.' Trump promised retribution during a gain where he raged against prosecutors and the four criminal cases against him In early May, Trump called New York AG Letitia James a 'horrible, horrible human being' as well as a 'total crook' and a 'sick person.' He said he would leave it up to AG Pam Bondi how to handle a referral from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte that accused her of mortgage fraud But he made clear it was entirely up to Attorney General Pam Bondi how to handle an April referral against her by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte that accused her of mortgage fraud. 'Pam's gonna have to do what she wants,' said Trump, adding that 'we don't discuss anything pending or not within my office.' The White House denied the existence of an 'enemies list.' 'There is no enemies list – the President is holding corrupt institutions and public officials accountable to the American people,' said White House spokesman Taylor Rogers when asked for comment. 'President Trump's only retribution is success and historic achievements for the American people,' he said in a statement. Trump's comments about James, who led the prosecution of Trump's New York fraud case, are just one of the times when he unloaded on a potential subject of an investigation, even if he stopped short of calling for one. The DOJ's Civil Rights Division sent a letter to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announcing it had opened a 'pattern and practice' investigation of whether he illegally made hiring decisions 'solely on the basis of race.' Johnson has called Trump a 'monster' and in response blasted 'the tyranny that's coming from the federal government.' In April he accused Trump of engaging in 'terrorism' after the president threatened to yank $3.5 billion in funds from the city over its policy of sanctuary cities. The FBI, meanwhile, has decided to reopen or 'push' cases where Trump has expressed an interest. One involves the Supreme Court leak of the Dobbs abortion decision, something Trump has speculated was done by liberals. It is also looking at who left a bag of cocaine at the White House back in 2023. Trump has publicly speculated it was 'either Joe or Hunter,' in references to the Bidens, without offering evidence. 'Could be Joe, too,' Trump added. A third probe will look at the unsolved case of who left pipe bombs outside the DNC and RNC party committees on January 6. Trump has long stoked conspiracies that Antifa was behind the Capitol riot, when a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol. Trump also signed executive orders directing the DOJ to investigate former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor, who anonymously penned a critical op-ed during his first term, and former cybersecurity official Christopher Krebs, who vouched for the security of the 2020 election. 'I think he's guilty of treason, if you want to know the truth. But we will find out,' Trump said of Taylor, who also penned a book called A Warning. Other Trump adversaries are getting heat from agencies or facing pressure not from law enforcement, but from government agencies. The U.S. General Services Administration directed federal agencies to scour the books for contracts with Harvard University, with more than $2 billion worth cancelled. Trump has repeatedly attacked Harvard and accused it of antisemitism. The president has also inked multiple executive orders targeting top law firms – prompting court fights. Potentially weakening the government's position is language contained within the orders themselves specifically mentioning Trump adversaries. A federal judge who struck down the order targeting Jenner & Block as violating free speech said it 'seeks to chill legal representation the administration doesn't like,' according to U.S. District Judge John D. Bates, a George W. Bush appointee. The order noted that Andrew Weissmann, a top Robert Mueller aide during the Russia probe, worked for the firm (he left in 2021). Weissmann played a role in the investigation of his links to Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign and has been a frequent critic on TV. The order accused Weissmann of 'dishonesty, and said the firm 'was 'thrilled' to re-hire the unethical Andrew Weissmann after his time engaging in partisan prosecution as part of Robert Mueller's entirely unjustified investigation. Andrew Weissmann's career has been rooted in weaponized government and abuse of power.' A separate order targeted Wilmer Hale, a firm long associated with Mueller himself. Richard Leon of the Federal District Court ruled against Trump on the matter Tuesday, calling an 'independent bar' the 'cornerstone of the American system of justice.' In his annual Memorial Day message, Trump tore into 'the scum that spent the last four years trying to destroy our country through warped radical left minds', indicating that he is still seething over his criminal prosecutions. But he also made room for 'good and compassionate judges throughout the land' who he said 'will save us from the decision of the monsters who want our country to go to hell.' Trump has hasn't been shy about public threats to go after those who have crossed him politically. Last week he blasted California Gov. Gavin Newsom – Trump called him 'Newscum' – and threatened that 'large scale federal funding will be held back' from California over its policy toward transgender athletes. During the campaign Trump called Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi the 'enemy from within.' Although his administration hasn't gone after Pelosi personally, early DOGE actions took aim at the Presidio in San Francisco and the Health and Human Services Department announced the closure of a regional office in the Nancy Pelosi Federal Building. Trump has repeatedly accused former Joe Biden aides of running the country and directing use of his autopen on pardons and legislation. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has said his panel will investigate.
The Independent
27-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
‘Lawfare' 2.0: From Beyonce and Bruce to Cuomo and Chicago mayor, Trump and Bondi's enemies list is growing
Donald Trump campaigned on ending 'weaponization' in government after accusing his political enemies of launching a legal war to derail his chances of winning the presidency a second time. But the president, with an emboldened Department of Justice, led by staunch ally Pam Bondi, has launched apparent partisan lawfare of his own, with investigations underway against prominent Democratic officials and left-leaning pop superstars, dozens of legal threats aimed at his ideological opponents — and even the law firms representing them. Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office accusing Joe Biden 's administration of a 'systematic campaign against its perceived political opponents' that is designed 'more toward inflicting political pain than toward pursuing actual justice or legitimate governmental objectives.' But the order seemingly does what it condemns — 'ending the weaponization of government' by turning the government against his enemies. The president promised 'retribution' for his supporters during his first campaign speech in 2023, and critics say his administration has wielded the executive branch and leveraged the Justice Department to settle personal and political vendettas. 'We are witnessing a huge attack on the rule of law, and direct assault on the Constitution,' Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen told reporters May 20, listing off Trump's 'tyranny and political blackmail' and threats to federal funding, arrests of student protesters and his 'weaponizing' of the Justice Department. In her confirmation hearing, Attorney General Bondi promised to lawmakers that 'the partisanship, the weaponization will be gone' from the Justice Department. 'America will have one tier of justice for all,' she said. But instead, her Justice Department 'has transformed into Donald Trump's personal law firm,' accuses former pardon attorney Liz Oyer, who is suing the administration over her 'abrupt' and 'illegal' firing. Bondi's office is 'essentially whatever the president wants it to be right now,' Oyer told NPR. Trump's list of targets seemingly grows by the day. Within the last week, the Justice Department's civil rights division opened an investigation into Chicago's Democratic mayor after he boasted to a church congregation about hiring so many Black people to his administration, federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against a sitting member of Congress, and Andrew Cuomo — a prominent Trump antagonist while serving as New York's governor and now the leading candidate for New York City mayor — has been accused of lying to Congress. The president has also demanded a ' major investigation ' into his own allegations that Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey and Bono violated campaign finance laws by supporting Kamala Harris' presidential campaign. Richard Grenell, Trump's appointed president of the Kennedy Center, also called the center's deferred maintenance and financial deficit 'criminal' and referred the institution to the U.S. attorney's office. Administration officials leaped on former FBI director James Comey for a social media post spelling out '86 47,' which the president called an 'assassination' threat. The Justice Department also announced plans this week for a new unit specifically taking aim at university diversity programs in an effort to pull out federal funding. Prosecutors are also investigating New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud — after she successfully led a civil case against the president and his real-estate empire for defrauding investors by fraudulently inflating the value of his properties. 'This investigation into me is nothing more than retribution,' James said in public remarks last week. 'It's baseless.' And, in the middle of an Oval Office meeting with South Africa's president, Trump lashed out at a 'jerk' reporter the president said 'ought to be investigated,' adding to a long list of media outlets and publishers the president has threatened with legal action. The Justice Department's criminal investigation into Cuomo, the current front runner in the race for New York mayor, was unveiled just weeks after the administration dropped corruption charges against his rival Eric Adams. An investigation follows accusations from House Republicans that Cuomo lied to a congressional subcommittee about decisions he made during the COVID-19 pandemic while he was governor. 'We have never been informed of any such matter, so why would someone leak it now? The answer is obvious: This is lawfare and election interference plain and simple — something President Trump and his top Department of Justice officials say they are against,' Cuomo's spokesperson Rich Azzopardi told The Independent. 'Governor Cuomo testified truthfully to the best of his recollection about events from four years earlier, and he offered to address any follow-up questions from the subcommittee — but from the beginning this was all transparently political,' he added. The probe is coming from the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, D.C., not in New York. The top prosecutor in D.C. is now former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, who unsuccessfully ran against Cuomo for state attorney general in 2006. Pirro routinely came to Trump's defense on-air throughout his criminal indictments and investigations, and she previously called on state prosecutors to investigate the governor for manslaughter and negligent homicide. 'You cannot escape the consequences of your intentional and reckless acts,' she said during a Fox News segment in 2021. 'You cannot escape your intentional coverup.' Ed Martin, who was replaced by Pirro as the top prosecutor in Washington, is now the head of the Justice Department's 'Weaponization Working Group,' which he says will 'name' and 'shame' people that the administration can't charge with crimes but deserve to be punished publicly. During a press conference earlier this month, Martin called himself the 'captain" of the group, which is investigating federal prosecutors involved in past investigations into Trump and his allies. 'There are some really bad actors, some people that did some really bad things to the American people. And if they can be charged, we'll charge them. But if they can't be charged, we will name them,' Martin said. 'And we will name them, and in a culture that respects shame, they should be people that are ashamed.' The Justice Department's investigation into Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who is Black, hinges on accusations that he hired people for the government solely because of their skin color. The allegations — outlined in a letter from Trump's new civil rights division chief Harmeet Dhillon — rest on his comments to a Black church congregation when he was asked about economic opportunities for minority residents. 'There are some detractors that will push back on me and say, you know, 'The only thing the mayor talks about is the hiring of Black people,'' Johnson said in his remarks. 'No, what I'm saying is, when you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else. We are the most generous people on the planet. … Having people in my administration that will look out for the interest of everyone, and everyone means you have to look out for the interests of Black folks, because that hasn't happened.' In a news conference responding to the investigation, Johnson said he won't be 'intimidated by the tyranny that's coming from the federal government.' Dhillon has recast the agency's mission into one that leans into the president's grievances and shifts its focus away from police oversight, voting rights protections and combating racial discrimination. Last week, her division ended police misconduct investigations in departments across the country. The rapid transformation of the civil rights division is 'really unprecedented and and really threatens the foundations of our multiracial democracy, and it's something that all Americans should be very, very alarmed about,' Jin Hee Lee, director of strategic initiatives at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, told The Independent. 'Everything that this administration has said indicates that they have absolutely no interest in pursuing civil rights violations or holding bad actors accountable for civil rights violations,' she said.
