The New York Times has written a loaded report of how the DOJ is going after Trump enemy and “far-right boogeyman” George Soros, claiming that President Trump is using the DOJ to go after his enemies.
The bottom line is that the DOJ has apparently tasked prosecutors to investigate Soros, which like so many things is a long time coming.
A senior Justice Department official has instructed more than a half dozen U.S. attorneys’ offices to draft plans to investigate a group funded by George Soros, the billionaire Democratic donor who President Trump has demanded be thrown in jail.
The official’s directive, a copy of which was viewed by The New York Times, goes as far as to list possible charges prosecutors could file, ranging from arson to material support of terrorism. The memo suggests department leaders are following orders from the president that specific people or groups be subject to criminal investigation — a major break from decades of past practice meant to insulate the Justice Department from political interference.
The move is the latest instance of the Justice Department moving against Mr. Trump’s perceived enemies.
In recent days, Mr. Trump has revisited his grievances against Mr. Soros, long a boogeyman for the right, in part because he has backed progressive causes. After the killing of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah this month, the president threatened to use the levers of government to silence liberal protesters and donors to progressive groups, including Mr. Soros.
Mr. Soros began his global grant network, now known as the Open Society Foundations, decades ago to fund democratic initiatives around the world, particularly in communist and formerly communist countries. In the 1990s, the organization expanded its work to the United States. It provides grants to groups that work for human rights, democracy and equity, but Mr. Trump and some Republicans contend, without providing evidence, that it is a shadowy network promoting civil unrest, violent protests and property destruction. Liberals say the assertions are falsehoods aimed at stifling dissent.
On Monday, a lawyer in the office of the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, issued the directive to U.S. attorney’s offices in California, New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Detroit and Maryland, among others.
The lawyer, Aakash Singh, who is responsible for communicating with federal prosecutors around the country, suggested a wide range of charges for prosecutors to consider against the Open Society Foundations. Possible charges included racketeering, arson, wire fraud and material support for terrorism, according to a copy of the directive.
While I do believe someone like Soros should be investigated, I do hope there is at the very least justifiable suspicion, legally speaking, to warrant such an investigation. It would not at all surprise any of us to find out Soros was funding Antifa groups around the country or other violent leftwing causes, as well as illegal voter registration drives and even worse. But I don’t want this to be a fishing expedition to find something, because that’s not how justice is supposed to work.
That said, accountability for people like James Comey and Letitia James are completely different, because we know that they used their public offices to weaponize their power to go after people like Trump. There is obvious proof of what they did. And I hope such proof exists for Soros as well.