Trump and Mark Meadows's 'alarming and illegal acts' deserve DOJ investigation: watchdog

The Department of Justice (DOJ) should investigate Donald Trump and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for potentially violating the law "by attempting to weaponize the Department of Justice as part of their larger campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election."

The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint on Thursday.

The group noted that "news reports and recently released internal DOJ emails reveal Trump and Meadows engaged in a public and private campaign to pressure federal and state government officials to use their authority to instigate frivolous investigations into voter fraud, file baseless lawsuits challenging the validity of the election in several states and commit election fraud with the intent of overturning the presidential election, which appears to have violated criminal civil rights law."

CREW President Noah Bookbinder called for accountability.

"These alarming and illegal acts were part of a broader conspiracy to deprive American citizens of their right to vote and to have their votes counted. Ultimately, this pattern of misconduct aimed at undermining the democratic process culminated in the seditious attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021," said Bookbinder. "Government officials who try to subvert our republic and undermine democratic rule must be held accountable to the full extent of the criminal law."

"By pressuring top DOJ officials to investigate unfounded conspiracy theories, Trump and Meadows not only wasted crucial government resources, but showcased a brazen attempt to validate misinformation and politicize law enforcement powers to further Trump's personal interests," Bookbinder said.

Read the 14-page complaint (PDF).