Donald Trump has just created yet another breach in the structure of the United States' institutions. This one is particularly significant because it concerns the justice system, which he wants to manipulate to pursue and punish his political opponents. Trump's promise of vengeance did not wait for his return to the White House, and he now intends to settle old scores with the help of a compliant administration.
James Comey, the former FBI director whom Trump fired shortly after the start of his first term in 2017, was at the top of his list of obsessions. Comey had investigated, in 2016, Russian interference in the presidential campaign that brought the Republican to power. He is now charged with lying to Congress.
The apparent weakness of the case had dissuaded a seasoned federal prosecutor, Erik Siebert, from bringing charges against Comey. Trump was not swayed by his reservations, which were shared by others. The president forced the resignation of Siebert, whom he had appointed just a few months earlier, and replaced him with a loyalist, Lindsey Halligan. The 36-year-old, previously tasked at the White House with rooting out any trace of "inappropriate ideology" from the museums of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, lacks experience for such a position. Yet this mattered little next to one essential quality in Trump's eyes: She had been part of his legal team when he was beset by legal troubles.
This privatization of justice for personal vendettas comes as no surprise from a president who chronicles his abuses of power on his social media and has installed obedient loyalists at the head of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is particularly disturbing, however, to see how the intense clan mentality and the climate of fear established by Trump upon his return to the White House have paralyzed the "checks and balances" that normally ensure the healthy functioning of democracy in the US. This fear explains the moral collapse of the Republican Party, which managed, however imperfectly, to maintain some limits during the billionaire's first term.
This impotence is alarming because Trump does not intend to stop at Comey. The names of a California lawmaker, Adam Schiff, who spearheaded Trump's first impeachment by the House of Representatives in 2019, and New York Attorney General Letitia James are often mentioned by the president. James's lawsuit against Trump and his sons for business fraud related to their real estate empire led to him being found liable to pay $354.8.
On September 25, when presenting a presidential decree aimed at combating "domestic terrorism and organized political violence," Trump threatened the progressive foundations created by philanthropist George Soros and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. Trump labeled these foundations as the work of "radical left people" and Democratic supporters. This pointing to an internal enemy to be eliminated, the transformation of the FBI into a political police force, and the justice system into a tool of power are all characteristics of illiberal regimes.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.