Weaponization of the Department of Justice: Demands to Investigate Political Opponents, Obamagate, and Pressure on Attorneys General
Tier 3Ongoing2017-01-20 to 2026-04-09
Factual Summary
Throughout his first and second terms, Donald Trump publicly and repeatedly demanded that the Department of Justice investigate, prosecute, and punish his political opponents. These demands were made in public statements, social media posts, and press conferences, creating a documented record of presidential pressure on the nation's law enforcement apparatus to act against individuals Trump perceived as enemies. This pattern broke with the post-Watergate norm under which presidents maintained a formal separation from DOJ prosecutorial decisions.
During his first term, Trump publicly called for investigations or prosecutions of former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, former FBI Director James Comey, former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Trump expressed repeated frustration with Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation, publicly criticizing Sessions and ultimately forcing his resignation. Trump stated that he wanted an Attorney General who would "protect" him, a characterization that conflated the Attorney General's role as the nation's chief law enforcement officer with a personal defense attorney.
In May 2020, Trump promoted the conspiracy theory he labeled "Obamagate," which alleged without evidence that President Obama had orchestrated the FBI's investigation of the Trump campaign's ties to Russia. Trump tweeted that Obamagate was "the greatest political scandal in the history of the United States" and called for Obama to be summoned to testify before Congress. He pressured Attorney General William Barr to pursue criminal charges against Obama and Biden. Barr publicly stated that he did not "expect" the Durham investigation to lead to criminal charges against Obama or Biden, prompting Trump to tell reporters he was "surprised" by Barr's statement. The Durham investigation, appointed by Barr to examine the origins of the Russia probe, ultimately concluded in 2023 with no charges against Obama, Biden, or senior FBI leadership.
Trump called for the prosecution of James Comey on multiple occasions. He demanded that Sessions and subsequently Barr act against his perceived enemies. He publicly pressured Barr to investigate Biden before the 2020 election. When Barr did not bring the cases Trump demanded, Trump publicly criticized him.
In his second term, the DOJ under Trump's appointees took direct action against individuals Trump had publicly targeted. James Comey was indicted on September 25, 2025, on charges of making a false statement and obstruction, days after Trump issued a public demand for his prosecution. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who had led the civil fraud case against the Trump Organization, was indicted on October 9, 2025, on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. She pleaded not guilty. Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quinones issued over two dozen subpoenas in an investigation targeting individuals including former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Peter Strzok.
Just Security, a legal analysis forum affiliated with the Reiss Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law, published a chronology documenting at least a dozen instances in which Trump pushed for the prosecution of his perceived political enemies.
Primary Sources
1. Trump public statements and social media posts calling for investigations of Obama, Biden, Comey, McCabe, Strzok, Page, and Mueller, 2017-2020
2. Trump Twitter and Truth Social posts promoting "Obamagate," May 2020
3. Barr statement that Durham investigation was not expected to lead to charges against Obama or Biden, May 18, 2020
4. Durham investigation final report, May 2023
5. DOJ indictment of James Comey, September 25, 2025
6. DOJ indictment of Letitia James, October 9, 2025
Corroborating Sources
1. Just Security: "Chronology of a Dozen Times Trump Pushed to Prosecute His Perceived Enemies"
2. NPR: "Barr Doesn't Expect Russia Probe To Lead To Criminal Investigation Of Obama Or Biden," May 18, 2020
3. CNBC: "Trump accuses Barr of double standard for saying it's unlikely DOJ will prosecute Obama, Biden," May 18, 2020
4. Time: "Trump Vows to Prosecute Political Enemies. Who's Next?"
5. NPR: "What happens when the firewall between the White House and the DOJ comes down?"
6. Protect Democracy: "Tracking retaliatory use of arrests, prosecutions, and investigations by the Trump administration"
Counterarguments and Context
Trump and his supporters argued that the individuals targeted had committed genuine crimes and that investigating them was a matter of equal justice rather than political retribution. They contended that the FBI's investigation of the Trump campaign was itself a politicized abuse of power, that Comey had leaked classified information and made false statements, and that the Durham investigation revealed genuine FBI misconduct in the handling of the Russia probe. Supporters of the second-term prosecutions argued that the charges against Comey and James were based on evidence of actual criminal conduct and that the fact that Trump had publicly called for their prosecution did not make the cases illegitimate if the underlying evidence warranted charges. Attorney General Barr himself stated during his first term that the criminal justice system should not be "used for partisan political ends," a standard his critics argued was violated by the second-term prosecutions. Critics responded that the pattern of the president publicly demanding prosecution, followed by prosecution, represents a breakdown of the independence that has separated the White House from DOJ prosecutorial decisions since the post-Watergate reforms. They noted that Trump's stated desire for an Attorney General who would "protect" him, his public anger at Sessions for recusing himself, his frustration with Barr for not bringing charges against Obama, and the subsequent indictments of people Trump had publicly targeted constitute a documented pattern of politicized prosecution.
Author's Note
This entry is classified as Tier 3 because Trump's demands for prosecution are documented through his own public statements, social media posts, and on-camera remarks, and because the subsequent prosecutorial actions are matters of official record. The entry documents both the demands (first term) and the actions (second term) to establish the full pattern. Whether the underlying charges against Comey, James, and others are substantiated remains subject to ongoing legal proceedings, but the documented sequence of presidential demand followed by DOJ action represents, at minimum, a departure from the post-Watergate norm of prosecutorial independence.