PresidentDonald Trumphas amped up pressure on his administration to punish longstanding rivals and political opposition, first on Sept. 20 bydemanding that his attorney general go after themand then vowing the next day to target "radical left maniacs" at theCharlie Kirkmemorial. Speaking totens of thousands of mourners who flocked to Arizonain remembrance of the slain 31-year-old activists, Trump pointed out that unlike Kirk, he dislikes his political foes. "That's where I disagreed with Charlie," Trumpsaid. "I hate my opponent, and I don't want the best for them." These type of comments infuriate the president's detractors, who say it further divides the country. And they are especially alarming to Trump's critics on the heels of the president asking Attorney GeneralPam Bondiby name in a Truth Social post to seek criminal charges against high-profile critics, such as former FBI DirectorJames Comey; Sen.Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and New York Attorney GeneralLetitia James. The public pressure is another example, some legal observers say, of Trump eroding democratic norms, specifically the U.S. Department of Justice's tradition of independence. "After months of denial, it has become undeniable thatDonald Trumpis weaponizing the government to attack his political opponents, silence his critics and neutralize large institutions that might challenge him," MarcElias, a longtime Democratic election attorney and founder of Democracy Docket, a left-leaning organization focused on election litigation, said in a Sept. 22 newsletter. "When we sound the alarm that he has turned the Department of Justice into his personal legal arsenal," Elias added, "we are told that he is simply shaking things up by disregarding customs and norms." Asked about Trump's frustration that the attorney general hadn't made progress on prosecuting past foes, White House Press SecretaryKaroline Leavittscoffed at the notion the agency is being politicized, before she quickly pivoted to slamming the previous administration. "We are not going to tolerate gaslighting from anyone in the media or from anyone on the other side who is trying to say that it's the president who is weaponizing the (Department of Justice)," she said during the Sept. 22 briefing. "It wasJoe Bidenand his attorney general who weaponized the DOJ," in reference to special prosecutor Jack Smith bringing charges against Trump for his role infomenting the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riotand his retention of classified documents after leaving office. Biden never directly called for Trump or any other Republican opponents to be prosecuted and then-Attorney General Merrick Garland only launched the investigation into Trump after thecongressional committee investigating Jan. 6publicly laid out evidence he may have obstructed justice in his efforts to overturn his 2020 electoral defeat. The appointment of Smith, a career prosecutor from outside the administration, was meant to prevent political interference. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trumplaid bare many of his intentionsabout being a tool of vengeance. HecirculatedTruth Social posts calling formilitary tribunalsagainst former President Barack Obama, for instance. Trump also shared with his followers other user posts thatcalled for indictingthe House Jan. 6 committee and apostdepicting rivals in jumpsuits, including Biden, then-Vice PresidentKamala Harrisand former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The online flogging of Bondi this month harkens back to the first term where as president he regularly pressured and fired those who didn't do his bidding. In 2019, for example, Trumpfired Attorney General Jeff Sessionsafter a year of intense and public scrutiny. He later turned on Attorney General William Barr, who left the first administration after declaring there wasno widespread evidence of voter fraudin the 2020 presidential election, which Trump repeatedly claimed. Steve Bannon, a former chief strategist for Trump who served a four-month prison sentence after defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee, hinted that the president wants action against those who went after him. "We have to take this thing apart brick-by-brick and we have to do it now," Bannon said during a Sept. 22 episode of his podcast featuring Peter Navarro, a current White House trade advisor who alsoserved prison time for defying a House subpeona. "Finally President Trump, God bless him, had a bellyful of it," he added. "All the excuses, all the tapping along... dropped the hammer and said: Hey look, I love you, but hey these guys are still walking the face of the Earth -- why?" Just last week, thepresident said he "fired" Erik Siebert, the acting U.S. attorney overseeing the criminal mortgage fraud investigation into James who informed the Department of Justice that his inquiry found insufficient evidence to pursue charges. "Trump's directive to AG Bondi—indict my political enemies—shows how low he's sunk and how high the danger," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, said in aSept. 22 post on X. "Tyranny is here, not on the horizon, if such abjectly abusive prosecutions are permitted." Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has been one of the few GOP lawmakers who appears squeamish about this direction. He said during aSept. 21 appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press"that while he believes the Biden administration shouldn't have prosecuted Trump -- which conservatives dubbed "lawfare" during the 2024 campaign -- it isn't right for Trump to be overtly calling for a prosecution of opponents either. "We need to get politics out of the judicial system as much as we can," Paul said. Supporters within the Make America Great Again movement, fueled in part by anger over Kirk's stunning assassination, have mostly scoffed at these criticisms, however. The individuals Trump is calling out, the White House and its MAGA allies say, abused their power to keep him from returning to the presidency. "The president has every right to express how he feels about these people who literally campaigned on trying to put him in jail, who literally tried to ruin his life and ruin his businesses," Leavitt said. Comey led the investigation into alleged ties between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia – which found no collusion. He was fired by Trump in May 2017. Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel from "The Man Show" appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" at the NBC Studios in Los Angeles on Nov. 19, 2001. Schiff, one of Trump's most vocal Democratic critics, led thefirst impeachment effortagainst the president over his 2019 communication with Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy. James issuing the Trump administrationover cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services and executive actions on elections that she says are unconstitutional. She secured a half-billion dollar civil fraud judgment against Trump last year, though the penalty was laterthrown out by an appeals court. What would the president would do if Bondi, who has beenslammed by key MAGA figures on various issuesthis year, cannot find enough evidence to bring a case? Leavitt declined to say on the grounds that it's a hypothetical, but she told reporters that Trump stands with his attorney general "100%" adding that is how feels "at this moment in time." Contributing:Kathryn Palmer,Bart Jansen (This story has been updated with more information.) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Take this thing apart': with allies backing, Trump to punish foes
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