'He’s out for blood': Trump has been using the Justice Department as a shield -- but now it's a weapon

President Donald Trump has threatened to "lock up" his political rivals since his 2016 campaign, when his rally crowds came to expect those threats against Hillary Clinton the way a classic rock band's fans anticipate hearing their greatest hits.

But now that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation has ended, he seems to be closer to actually carrying out those threats to prosecute his rivals with a corrupted Justice Department, reported Rolling Stone.

Trump has been tweeting out suggestions that the Justice Department investigate Clinton, and he told reporters Thursday that former Secretary of State John Kerry should be prosecuted for violating the Logan Act, which prohibits unauthorized individuals from negotiating diplomatic disputes with foreign entities.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) questioned Attorney General William Barr whether the president had pressured him to investigate anyone, but he refused to give a solid answer.

Trump suggested to reporters that he had discussed the possibility of indicting Kerry, but his "people don't want to do anything," and claimed "only the Democrats want to do that kind of stuff.”

Harris followed up hours later by asking Barr to clarify his non-response to her question during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to help Americans "retain trust" in the law enforcement department he oversees.

Mueller's report examines nearly a dozen instances of possible Trump obstruction of justice, and it also shows his willingness to interfere with Justice Department matters.

"For two years, he was doing so from a defensive position," wrote Ryan Bort, for Rolling Stone. "Now that the special counsel’s investigation has concluded, he’s out for blood."

Trump reportedly dispatched his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to Europe to dig up evidence to convince the public the Mueller investigation was a partisan witch hunt, and the former New York City mayor will then visit Ukraine to open investigations intended to discredit the special counsel probe.

Giuliani will also press Ukraine's new president to seek out potentially damaging information about Joe Biden, the current Democratic frontrunner, whose son served on the board of an energy company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch while his father served as vice president.