U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to address the workers of the Department of Justice, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
President Donald Trump laid into his perceived foes Friday afternoon during a speech at the Justice Department, in which he took aim at legal experts including Norm Eisen, who boasted the reason the president attacked him was "we're winning!"
Trump said "an individual named Norm Eisen" has pursued him for nine years, and looped Eisen in with others he called "bad people" and "scum," adding: "I don't know what he looks like."
Trump called for the Justice Department to crack down on Eisen, his organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and other groups filing litigation against his administration.
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At one point, Trump characterized Eisen as "vicious and violent" in his pursuit of trying to bring down Trump, but mocked Eisen over the results.
"But with me, how did he do? I think I'm president. Am I here because I'm president?" asked Trump.
Eisen responded in a two-minute video posted to X.
"You may have seen Donald Trump lashed out at me in his speech at the Department of Justice," Eisen began. "Why? Because we at the State Democracy Defenders Fund are taking him to court with our wonderful partners and allies across the country — and we're winning!"
Among the successes he bragged about: a case in which his team earned a pause in a case involving 6,000 FBI agents. Last month, a federal judge approved an agreement between the FBI agents and the Department of Justice preventing the government from publicly releasing or disseminating the list of FBI agents who worked on Jan. 6 and Trump-related cases while litigation continues. The stay will remain in effect until the court rules on motions for a preliminary injunction.
"Protecting them from being targeted by President Trump and being doxed!" Eisen boasted.
He also shouted out a partner who earned a court win this week in federal court in San Francisco.
"Protecting tens of thousands of government workers from being illegally fired," Eisen added.
Eisen vowed that he and his colleagues will work "even harder" to defend those rights and continue to earn court victories in "support of the Constitution, the law and the American people."
"We treat these kinds of attacks as the ultimate back-handed compliment," he said. "And they're just going to urge us on to do even more to defend the American people."
Watch Eisen's clip below or at this link.
Here’s my response to Donald Trump lashing out at me today at the DOJ: Me & my colleagues @sddfund are going to litigate & win even more! pic.twitter.com/zqQvKeekaw
— Norm Eisen (#TryingTrump out now!) (@NormEisen) March 14, 2025