The Trump administration is gearing up for a mass “retribution” campaign over the president’s false claims that the 2020 election was “rigged,” NBC News reported Saturday, a campaign that one former federal judge warned may be “beyond all comprehension.”
President Donald Trump has long alleged, falsely, that the 2020 election he lost by more than 7 million votes was "stolen," and has sworn retribution against those he alleges to be involved. He ramped up those calls this week during his address at the World Economic Forum, warning that “people will soon be prosecuted for what they did.”
According to NBC News, a “surge of activity” in Trump’s Justice Department has been observed “in the days since” his remarks, and J. Michael Luttig, a former federal appeals court judge appointed by former President George W. Bush, issued a dire warning in NBC News’ report Friday.
“At this early point in his second term, Donald Trump has himself defined his presidency as one of vengeance and retribution,” Luttig told NBC News.
To date, Trump has called for at least 16 of his political adversaries to be prosecuted, and, according to NPR, has made threats of prosecution or punishment to more than 100 of his “perceived enemies.” Trump’s hopes of prosecuting those involved in the 2020 election, however, have yet to materialize, something that has irked the president in private according to The Wall Street Journal.
When asked for comment, the White House fired back at NBC News for its reporting, calling the “premise for [the] article laughable” and attacking the press for its coverage of the White House during the Biden administration.
“Mainstream media turned a blind eye when Joe Biden weaponized his Department of Justice against his political opponents,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson, speaking with NBC News.
“President Trump and his Administration are restoring integrity to the Justice Department that Joe Biden broke – and we will absolutely enforce the law and hold criminals accountable. Democrats just must not be used to that.”