Of the nearly countless unforgivable and often corrupt acts of the Trump administration, very few register as dangerous and threatening as the total politicization of the Department of Justice. The department that used to be entirely hands-off from the White House — and woe to the president that didn't respect that — is now fully functioning not just as Trump's enforcement hammer, but as the political punisher of "enemies."
For enemies, read critics. It is now a crime to criticize Trump.
That corruption now plays out in the DOJ investigation of Eric Swallwell.
Have no doubt, Swallwell should be prosecuted by state authorities if the allegations support it. (And it sounds like they will.) That is how the system is supposed to function. There is no "need" for the federal government to investigate. It is also downright dangerous in this instance.
Traditionally, DOJ investigated and prosecuted only select crimes. Three sets of examples come quickly to mind. Federal agents and prosecutors worked to combat major organized and sophisticated cross-state crimes. Typically, mob, drug, and corporate. They also prosecuted civil rights crimes, especially in states that were less interested in doing so. Finally, the federal Justice Department was the only organization suited to investigate and prosecute federal politicians, in Congress and the Executive branch.
Thus it was that the Department sat almost entirely independent from the White House. The president could make policy decisions and recommendations: "No jail time for pot offenders." But never, ever, would they be involved in any one investigation — never mind ordering it.
Nixon crossed the line. Trump smashed it, and abused it.
There is little question that the federal investigation of Swalwell is linked solely to his Trump criticism. But Trump's influence on DOJ isn't limited to high-profile political opponents (though it's certainly that). It also reaches down into the press and everyday people.
The policy plays out in two ways. First, there is almost no investigation or prosecution of prominent Trump supporters. Indeed, the department will now even reverse prosecutions entirely — see first the J6er's pardon, and now the lifting of the prosecutions altogether. No one acting in Trump's name is committing a crime worth punishment, in DOJ's view.
And, of course, it plays out in the vicious political investigations. Swalwell is being investigated thoroughly by the people who are supposed to investigate allegations against him; now, the DOJ is also digging in. But it doesn't end there; look at the prosecution first of James Comey (tossed by the judge), and the threatened prosecution of Federal Reserve Chairman Powell. (Trump is again threatening to fire him, also a highly dangerous precedent.)
Not only is the White House surely directly involved in demanding those prosecutions, but it also then involves itself in the specific investigation. Such behavior used to be an automatic big-time scandal with the word "impeachment" attached. Trump does it openly and notoriously.
The subject then turns to the possible single most corrupt presidential act in history, its control of the Epstein investigation.
It is very difficult to imagine anything more corrupt than a president who demands that the DOJ stop investigating the Epstein matter on the basis that it might unfairly color innocent people, but also "anger" his friends. Oh, and those examples involve possible suspects other than Trump, never mind that everyone understands that a real Epstein investigation must at least answer some serious questions about Trump directly.
It is possible that a president of the United States ordered his Attorney General to scrub all files mentioning him in which he possibly sexually assaulted children. That is breathless corruption.
Going forward, the real danger is not just the Trump political prosecutions, but the normalizing of the political prosecution of critics. It is highly unlikely that the current Democratic crop of presidential aspirants (Buttigieg, Newsom, AOC, Beshear, others) would turn to political prosecutions, but it is not impossible. And based on historical norms, it is likely the next GOP president will follow Trump's pattern.
Donald Trump has no tools to deal with criticism other than lashing out to hurt the critic. He most certainly doesn't care or consider the precedent going forward, the harm to our system of government, nor his ethical breach. He cares only about "retribution." His insecurities reach such a level that he won't allow the investigation of his major supporters. Crimes in Trump's name are not crimes in Trump's eyes.
If the states investigating Swalwell successfully prosecute him, he deserves to spend much of his future in prison. He probably deserves to have the feds investigate him. But it is dangerously wrong for them to do so, especially if Trump ordered it or was done by a DOJ that knows it will make Trump happy.
A president who prioritizes and directs the criminal prosecution of his political enemies fits the precise definition of a banana republic dictator. His policy isn't confined to major political names, but reaches down to impact all of us. In that respect, federal involvement in the Swalwell matter is viciously wrong.
The extremely tall James Comey once declined President Obama's invitation to simply play basketball at the White House, fearing the appearance of friendship impacted the appearance of DOJ's independence. Trump went straight to directing the prosecution of his enemies and obstructing any investigation into him.
That is a dangerously corrupt conflict of interest on a generational scale and blows up a critical pillar of American democracy altogether.
Jason Miciak is a Rawstory Columnist at Large, former associate Editor of Occupy Democrats, an author, attorney, and single-parent girldad. He can be reached on Bluesky here, on Twitter, and at jasonmiciak@gmail.com. He also seeks beta readers for his latest novel.