#weaponization
10 entries with this tag
Trump Blamed "Vandals" for the Peeling, Botched $14.7 Million Renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and Had His D.C. Prosecutor Charge Real People Over It — Including a Former Olympian — Before Every Charge Was Dropped; Now, Per the New York Times, the Contractor's Own Reports Admit the Truth: Its Faulty Work, Not Sabotage, Caused the Damage
The Trump administration fast-tracked a roughly $14.7 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool ahead of the Fourth of July. The new blue liner promptly peeled, bubbled, and broke loose. Trump's explanation was not that the rushed job had failed — it was that "vandals" had sabotaged the pool. He pushed to prosecute them, and his U.S. Attorney in Washington, Jeanine Pirro, actually charged several people, including former Olympian David Hearn. Every one of those charges was eventually dropped. Now, according to government documents reviewed by The New York Times, the contractor itself — Atlantic Industrial Coatings — has admitted in its own reports (dated August 14 and September 2) that the damage was caused by its work, not by any vandal: "human oversight" meant workers failed to spray enough primer for the liner's layers to bond, the two chemicals mixed for the liner were incompatible, and heat then loosened the bottom layer. In other words, the crime Trump blamed for his project's failure never happened, and he knew enough to concede "some contractor error" back in August even as the prosecutions proceeded. This is the full sequence of the abuse in one small monument: a botched job, a fabricated culprit, and innocent people — one of them an Olympian — charged with a federal crime to protect the president from the embarrassment of his own contractor's mistakes.
Asked on Live Television Whether He Would Pledge That the Justice Department Would Be Independent of the White House, the Newly Confirmed Attorney General — Trump's Former Personal Lawyer — Said "No, I'm Not Going to Pledge That," Confirming Out Loud, Days After His 50-49 Confirmation, Exactly What His Critics Warned
Just over a week after the Senate confirmed him 50-49, Attorney General Todd Blanche — Trump's former personal criminal-defense lawyer — went on NBC's "Meet the Press" and was asked the simplest question about his new job: would he pledge that the Justice Department would be independent of the White House? His answer: "No, I'm not going to pledge that." He said he would take President Trump's views into account in directing federal law enforcement, while insisting he would act with integrity and "prosecute without fear or any sort of favor," and that Trump would never cross a "legal line." He also publicly backed U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro after Trump criticized her for dropping a prosecution, and defended the DOJ opinion extending executive privilege to Trump's private advisers. The post-Watergate norm — that the Justice Department does not take direction from the president on who to investigate and charge — is the single most important guardrail against a law-enforcement apparatus turned into a political weapon. Two Republican senators, Collins and Murkowski, voted against Blanche precisely because they feared he would erase it. Days later, on national television, he confirmed they were right: he would not even pledge the independence the office is supposed to embody. He is not hiding the answer. He is stating it.
The Check Broke: Todd Blanche — Trump's Personal Criminal-Defense Lawyer, Referred for Bar Discipline Over a Sham IRS Deal, Who Defied a Court Order to Bury the Epstein Files and Says Trump Has a "Right" to Order Prosecutions of His Enemies — Was Confirmed as Attorney General 50-49, With Bill Cassidy Casting the Decisive Vote
In the early hours of Saturday, August 8, 2026, the Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general of the United States by a vote of 50-49 — the narrowest possible margin. Blanche is Trump's former personal criminal-defense lawyer. He was referred by a federal judge for bar discipline over the collusive IRS "settlement" that laundered Trump tax immunity and tried to create a $1.8 billion fund for the January 6 rioters. His Justice Department defied a court order and the transparency law Trump signed to keep the Epstein files sealed. And in his first press conference as acting AG he asserted that the president has a "right" and "duty" to order the department to investigate his enemies — a doctrine the DOJ is now executing against Comey, Letitia James, and others. Two Republicans, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, voted no, joining every Democrat; Murkowski said the country needs an attorney general "who will check the worst impulses of this administration." It was not enough. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — who voted to convict Trump in the 2021 impeachment and had been the last uncertain Republican — announced Friday he would back Blanche, becoming the decisive vote. With Sen. Mitch McConnell absent (recovering after a June fall), Cassidy's support made it 50-49, sparing even a Vance tiebreak. The nomination was in genuine peril for weeks; in the end it held by one vote. The man most of the corruption catalogued in this archive runs through is now, with the full permanent authority of the office and no "acting" qualifier, the chief law-enforcement officer of the United States.
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.
Trump Bragged from the Oval Office That He Dropped Crypto Investigations — "You're Lucky I'm President!" — While His Financial Disclosure Shows He Made $1.4 Billion from Crypto, His Memecoin Lost Investors $3.8 Billion, He Pardoned the Binance Founder Who Pleaded Guilty to Money Laundering, and His SEC Chair Dropped Cases Against Companies That Donated to His Inauguration
President Trump told cryptocurrency figures from the Oval Office: "Every time I see a crypto guy where they dropped an investigation, I said, 'You're lucky I'm president!'" His 2025 financial disclosure, filed days earlier, shows he made $1.4 billion from crypto — $636 million from the $TRUMP memecoin and nearly $800 million from World Liberty Financial, a venture he co-founded with his sons. Meanwhile, nearly one million investors who bought the $TRUMP memecoin lost a combined $3.81 billion as the token crashed 97% from its peak. Trump profited whether the price went up or down — he collected returns whenever anyone traded the tokens, which he promoted on Truth Social. His SEC chair Paul Atkins — who holds $6 million in personal crypto assets — dropped or dismissed at least a dozen crypto enforcement cases, including meritorious litigation against Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken. Crypto-related enforcement fell 60%. Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the Binance founder who pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2023. Binance then deployed engineers to build World Liberty Financial's stablecoin and holds 86% of all USD1 tokens. Companies whose cases were dropped — Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, Robinhood, Crypto.com — had each donated at least $1 million to Trump's inauguration. At the 2025 memecoin gala dinner, 19 of the top 25 holders were likely foreign nationals. Justin Sun, a Chinese billionaire facing SEC fraud charges that were paused by the Trump administration, held the top spot. Freight Technologies bought $20 million in tokens explicitly to "advocate for fair trade." Rep. Greg Casar: "The Trump family has made over $5 BILLION in corrupt crypto deals. Now Trump is openly bragging that his government won't investigate cryptocurrency-related crimes. Corruption, plain and simple." Senator Gillibrand proposed banning elected officials from issuing memecoins. The president of the United States stood in the Oval Office and boasted about dropping investigations into the industry that made him a billionaire.
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."
Trump Drops His IRS Lawsuit, Creates $1.776B "Anti-Weaponization Fund" to Reimburse Jan. 6 Rioters With Taxpayer Money
Trump's DOJ officially established the $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" — taxpayer money to reimburse MAGA allies including Jan. 6 rioters. In exchange, Trump dropped his $10 billion IRS lawsuit over the Mar-a-Lago raid. The president settled a lawsuit with himself to create a slush fund he controls. A House Democrat: "the largest single act of grand larceny in American history."
DOJ Whistleblower Reveals Prosecutors Were Ordered to Rush a "Legally Deficient" SPLC Indictment — Zero Convictions Across the Entire Retribution Agenda
A DOJ whistleblower revealed that senior leadership ordered prosecutors to fast-track a "legally deficient" indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center despite their objections. This is the latest in Trump's retribution campaign — Comey, Letitia James, Bolton, the SPLC, law firms, former intel chiefs, sitting senators — and not a single target has been convicted.
DOJ Pays Flynn $1.2M of Taxpayer Money for "Malicious Prosecution" — He Pleaded Guilty. Twice.
Trump's DOJ settled Michael Flynn's lawsuit for $1.2M, calling his prosecution a "historic injustice." Flynn pleaded guilty twice to lying to the FBI about Russian contacts. The Biden DOJ had asked a judge to dismiss Flynn's complaint. Trump's DOJ reversed course and paid him.