The Vengeance Train chugs on
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The firing of multiple career Justice Department lawyers involved in prosecuting Donald Trump on Monday was designed to intimidate the Justice Department and FBI workforce and deter investigations of Trump’s second administration, five former Justice Department and FBI officials told NBC News.
“They are scaring people into behaving a certain way,” said a former senior FBI official, who asked not to be named, citing fears of retaliation.
“Imagine if anyone in the new administration legitimately abuses their position," he added. "Is anyone in DOJ or FBI really going to investigate that now?”
Stephen Gillers, a legal ethics expert and former New York University law professor, said Trump appears to be trying to achieve two goals: punishing his perceived enemies and deterring future criminal probes.
“The motive is retribution,” Gillers said. “At the same time, he also warns others that they will suffer the same fate if they cross him. So a second motive is deterrence. What we have then is both revenge and behavior modification.”
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So much for the independence of the DOJ.
Questioned about the firing of career Justice Department prosecutors who worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigations of Trump, Leavitt said Trump is “the executive of the executive branch, and therefore he has the power to fire anyone within the executive branch that he wishes to.”
