#retaliation
17 entries with this tag
Four Days After Losing Both Chambers of Congress, Trump Publicly Ordered the Justice Department to Investigate Democrats — Recasting Their Plans to Conduct Oversight and Pursue Impeachment as a "Criminal Act" by "EXTORTIONISTS" Who Should Be "Imprisoned" — an Attempt to Criminalize the Constitutionally Protected Powers of the Congress the Voters Had Just Handed to the Other Party
On November 7, 2026 — four days after Democrats flipped both the House and the Senate — Trump posted on Truth Social directing the Justice Department to investigate Democrats, accusing them of threatening administration officials, including the attorney general, with impeachment, and calling it a "criminal act." He labeled the Democrats "EXTORTIONISTS" and said they should be "imprisoned." He offered no evidence, claiming without support that Democratic leaders were sending "threatening" letters and messages to Republicans. What Trump described as extortion is, in fact, the ordinary constitutional machinery of a legislative branch: oversight of the executive, and the impeachment power the Constitution expressly vests in the House. The incoming Democratic majorities had pledged to scrutinize the administration — exactly what an opposition Congress is supposed to do. Trump's response was to demand the criminal prosecution and imprisonment of the people about to exercise that authority. Attorney General Todd Blanche reportedly did not rule out prosecuting Democrats over the oversight threats. Stripped of the capital letters, the order is among the most direct assaults on the separation of powers this archive has recorded: a president, rebuked at the polls, moving to turn the Justice Department against the coequal branch the voters had just empowered to check him.
A Federal Judge Ruled That Trump's Justice Department Unlawfully Fired Maurene Comey — the Veteran Prosecutor Who Handled the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell Cases, and the Daughter of James Comey — Ordering Her Reinstated With Back Pay After the DOJ Admitted in Court the Firing Was Not for Cause or Performance; the Ruling Came the Same Week the DOJ Charged Her Father for a Third Time
On October 26, 2026, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled that the Justice Department had unlawfully fired Maurene Comey — a career federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York known for handling the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell prosecutions, and the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, a longtime target of President Trump. Furman ordered her reinstated, retroactive to the date of her dismissal, with back pay and restored pension benefits, and directed that her personnel file be changed to reflect a resignation rather than a firing. The ruling rested mainly on the Civil Service Reform Act, with the judge also finding separation-of-powers, Administrative Procedure Act, and due-process violations. The most damning fact came from the government's own filings: the DOJ acknowledged in court that the firing was not for cause and not based on performance — it simply asserted the attorney general had sweeping Article II authority to remove her at will. Furman rejected that claim. A May 2026 filing reportedly identified Attorney General Pam Bondi as the official who directed the firing, though the judge said the decision-maker question remained partly disputed, and he did not rule on whether political retaliation was the motive. The timing told its own story: the reinstatement of the daughter, for a firing the government conceded had no legitimate cause, landed the very same week the Justice Department charged her father, James Comey, for the third time.
Trump Declared Three Major News Organizations — CNN, MS NOW, and Politico — "Banned" From the White House "Effective Immediately," Explicitly Because He Dislikes Their Coverage, Which He Called "FICTION and LIES," and Threatened the New York Times and Washington Post Next — a Viewpoint-Based Purge of the Press That Federal Courts Have Already Ruled the White House Cannot Do
On September 18, 2026, Trump announced on Truth Social that he was banning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House "effective immediately," declaring that the three outlets "shouldn't be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they're covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America." He threatened to extend the bans to others, singling out the New York Times and Washington Post as "crummy." The White House did not immediately clarify the scope — whether the outlets' reporters would lose their credentials entirely or be shut out of briefings, events, and the press pool. But the stated basis was explicit and disqualifying: the outlets are being punished for the content of their coverage. That is textbook viewpoint discrimination, and it runs directly into settled law. In the 1977 case Sherrill v. Knight, the D.C. Circuit held that the White House cannot arbitrarily deny a press pass to a bona fide journalist, and as recently as 2025 a federal court ruled the administration could not bar the Associated Press from covering events open to the press because it disliked the AP's editorial choices. A president gets to dispute reporting he considers wrong; he does not get to decide which news organizations are allowed to cover him based on whether their coverage pleases him. This is the government choosing the press — the precise inversion of a free one.
ABC and Disney Went on the Offensive Against Trump's FCC — Suing in Federal Court and Alleging the Agency Waged a "Retaliatory Campaign" Against the Network, Ordering an Early Review of All Eight of Its Station Licenses Years Ahead of Schedule, to Punish It for Jimmy Kimmel's Jokes, "The View," and Its News Coverage
On August 18, 2026, the Walt Disney Company and ABC — along with the eight ABC-owned stations whose licenses are at stake — sued the Federal Communications Commission in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleging a First Amendment violation. Their claim is blunt: the FCC "has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts." The trigger was the FCC, under Trump ally and chairman Brendan Carr, ordering in April an "early" review of all eight ABC-owned station licenses — years before they are set to expire — nominally citing the company's diversity practices, but (per the suit) actually to punish ABC for its news coverage, the talk show "The View," and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who relentlessly mocks Trump. The lawsuit cites Trump's own social-media posts attacking all three, and his repeated public demands that ABC be stripped of its licenses. Two clarifications matter: this is a suit against Trump's FCC, not against Trump personally, and no court has ruled yet — the "win" that preceded it was Kimmel's reinstatement after he was pushed off the air under FCC pressure. What ABC has done now is take the government's retaliation for constitutionally protected speech and force it into open court, where using broadcast-license power to punish a network for its content is exactly what the First Amendment forbids.
Trump Campaigned on Ending the "Weaponization" of the Justice Department — Then Turned It Into an Instrument for Prosecuting His Enemies: His Acting AG Says Trump Has a "Right" and "Duty" to Order Investigations, a Trump-Loyalist "Grand Conspiracy" Grand Jury in Florida Is Hunting His Foes, and 100+ Career Prosecutors Have Quit
A Democratic member of Congress, appearing on NBC's "Hallie Jackson NOW" on July 31, 2026, said Trump is "hellbent" on controlling the Justice Department and is "personally directing" the cases the department is bringing against his political opponents. The charge is not speculation; it is the documented operating principle of the DOJ under acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. In his first press conference as acting AG, Blanche said Trump has both a "right" and a "duty" to order the department to investigate his enemies — and when asked how he would square that with Trump's own executive order claiming to end the "weaponization" of government, he said he would not. Under Blanche, the DOJ has: re-indicted former FBI Director James Comey (after Trump publicly forced out the prosecutor who found insufficient evidence, installed his own former personal lawyer, and got an indictment within days — later dismissed, then refiled over a social-media post of seashells spelling "86 47"); pursued New York Attorney General Letitia James, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, former CIA Director John Brennan, members of Congress, and a probe into California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife; and stood up a "grand conspiracy" grand jury in the Trump-friendly Southern District of Florida — led by 2020-election-denier Joe diGenova — to hunt Obama- and Biden-era officials as an anti-Trump cabal. More than 100 career prosecutors have resigned, many citing political interference. A Marquette poll found 55% of Americans believe the DOJ has filed unjustified cases against Trump's opponents. The thing Trump said he would stop, he built.
The DOJ Sent Federal Agents to the Homes of Four New York Times Reporters With Grand-Jury Subpoenas — for Reporting That Trump's Qatari Air Force One Lacks Missile Defenses and That the Secret Service Told Him Not to Fly It — and the Prosecutor Who Issued Them Is Trump's Nominee to Run National Intelligence
The Justice Department subpoenaed four New York Times journalists — Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt — ordering them before a Manhattan federal grand jury "in regard to an alleged violation of criminal law." Federal agents delivered some of the subpoenas to the reporters' homes. Their offense: reporting that the Secret Service urged Trump to leave the NATO summit in Turkey aboard the old Air Force One rather than the Qatari-gifted Boeing 747, and that the gifted jet lacks "defensive countermeasures that were security features of the old model, including its advanced antimissile capabilities." The subpoenas were issued by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan — who is himself Trump's nominee to become Director of National Intelligence, with a confirmation hearing days away — and followed a White House meeting involving FBI Director Kash Patel. The Times said it will fight the order. Its newsroom lawyer David McCraw said federal agents on reporters' doorsteps "should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects." The National Press Club called it "an extraordinary assault on the freedom of the press that strikes at the heart of the First Amendment." The DOJ claimed "reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are." The move fits a pattern: the department earlier issued then withdrew similar subpoenas against Washington Post and Wall Street Journal reporters, the FBI searched a Post reporter's home in January, and in April 2025 AG Pam Bondi rescinded the Biden-era policy that shielded journalists' records in leak investigations. The reporting being criminalized is the same reporting documented here days ago — that the $400M+ rushed retrofit produced a plane one analyst said was suited to "domestic hops rather than hostile skies."
Lead Prosecutor in Comey Seashells Case Steps Aside — A Former Republican Committeeman With No Federal Criminal Experience
Matthew Petracca, the lead federal prosecutor in the case against James Comey over an Instagram photo of seashells, has stepped aside. Petracca was a former Republican county committeeman and family lawyer from New Jersey whose prior federal experience was prosecuting Medicaid fraud. He was the last man standing after more experienced prosecutors left the case. Even Pam Bondi — before Trump fired her — thought the seashells case was too weak and pushed for Virginia charges instead. Then Blanche took over and rammed it through.
Trump's DOJ Opens Criminal Investigation Into E. Jean Carroll — The Woman a Jury Found He Sexually Assaulted
The DOJ launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll — the woman two juries found Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming, awarding her $88.3 million total. The perjury theory: Carroll said in a 2022 deposition that no one else was funding her lawsuit, but LinkedIn billionaire Reid Hoffman later helped cover some legal costs through a nonprofit. An appeals court already reviewed this and found Carroll "plausibly represented" she had "forgotten about the limited outside funding counsel obtained." Trump's DOJ is now criminally investigating his own sexual assault victim over a deposition answer an appeals court already dismissed.
Judge Throws Out Charges Against Abrego Garcia: DOJ Prosecution Was "Vindictive" Retaliation for Challenging His Wrongful Deportation
A federal judge dismissed human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, ruling the prosecution was vindictive retaliation for his legal fight to return from wrongful deportation. The charges stemmed from a 2022 traffic stop that was closed without action — then reopened by Deputy AG Todd Blanche immediately after the Supreme Court ordered his return. The judge quoted Robert Jackson's warning about "picking the person first and the crime second." The DOJ called him "an activist judge."
FBI Investigated NYT Reporter Who Wrote About Kash Patel's Girlfriend Getting an FBI SWAT Escort
FBI Director Kash Patel's bureau opened an investigation into New York Times reporter Elizabeth Williamson — who wrote about Patel giving his country singer girlfriend FBI security and transport — to determine if she broke federal stalking laws. FBI agents interviewed the girlfriend, searched databases for information on the reporter. DOJ officials killed the probe, finding no legal basis and calling it retaliation.
Pentagon Evicts All Reporters After Judge Strikes Down Press Rules
After a judge ruled the Pentagon's press restrictions unconstitutional — finding they were designed to weed out "disfavored journalists" — Hegseth retaliated by closing the Correspondents' Corridor and removing all media offices from the building.
Nashville Journalist Detained 16 Days by ICE for Covering Immigration — Stripped, Doused in Chemicals, Isolated
Estefany Rodríguez, a Spanish-language reporter who covers ICE for Nashville Noticias, was arrested without a warrant while her husband parked at a gym. She spent 16 days detained: 5 in isolation after guards falsely claimed lice, stripped naked and doused in chemicals.
Days Before Trump Launched His War on Iran, Kash Patel Gutted the FBI Unit That Tracks Iranian Threats and Espionage — Firing About a Dozen Counterintelligence Staffers From CI-12, Not for Any Failure on the Job, but Because They Had Once Been Assigned to the Mar-a-Lago Classified-Documents Investigation of Trump — Draining Decades of Iran Expertise at the Exact Moment the Country Was About to Need It Most
In early March 2026, FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the firing of about a dozen counterintelligence staffers from CI-12, a unit in the FBI's Washington Field Office whose work focused on media leaks, global espionage, and threats involving the Iranian regime. According to CNN and other reporting, they were not removed for poor performance. They were removed because they had, in some capacity, previously been assigned to the Justice Department's investigation — conducted under the Biden-era special counsel Jack Smith — into Trump's retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago; Patel reportedly lashed out after learning Smith had sought his own phone records. The timing made the purge far worse than a routine act of political revenge: it came just days before the United States launched a major bombing campaign against Iran. Patel gutted the FBI's Iran counterintelligence expertise at the precise moment a war with Iran was about to make that expertise critical — hollowing out the team responsible for tracking Iranian espionage and retaliation inside the United States right as both became acutely likely. Members of Congress demanded Patel testify; the FBI disputed that the firings damaged its Iran work. But the sequence is the indictment: the director punished agents for having investigated Trump, and in doing so, left the country blinder to Iran on the eve of fighting it.
War on Harvard and Higher Education
The administration froze $3 billion in Harvard research grants, revoked its foreign student certification, and demanded a $1 billion settlement — all in retaliation for the university refusing to submit to political demands on admissions and curriculum.
Executive Orders Targeting Law Firms Struck Down
Trump issued executive orders retaliating against law firms that represented his opponents — Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Paul Weiss, and Jenner & Block. Over 500 law firms signed an amicus brief. Courts permanently struck the orders down.
Gabbard Revoked Clearances of Dozens of Officials, Exposed CIA Officer
DNI Tulsi Gabbard revoked security clearances of Biden, Harris, Clinton, and dozens of former officials on a political enemies list. She also disclosed the name of an undercover CIA officer, alarming the intelligence community.
Kash Patel's FBI Political Purge
FBI Director Kash Patel purged agents who worked on January 6 and Trump criminal cases — court filings revealed he said he needed to fire them "to keep his own job." He also used the FBI jet for personal trips.