ANDREW LIMBONG, HOST:
The Justice Department is following through on President Trump's threats to go after his political enemies. Former FBI director James Comey has been indicted, and tension among federal prosecutors has been building since Trump took office. Trump campaigned on the idea of ending the weaponization of the Justice Department, arguing that he had been unfairly targeted. Here to talk about what's happening and what might come next is NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro. Hey, Domenico.
DOMENICO MONTANARO, BYLINE: Hey, Andrew, great to be with you.
LIMBONG: Yeah, so all right, for someone who came into the office saying he would stop the weaponization, the targeted Comey indictment seems contrary to that, right?
MONTANARO: Yeah, I mean, he said repeatedly on the campaign trail and during his second term here in the White House that he was going to stop the weaponization. You know, his attorney general, Pam Bondi, said during her confirmation hearing that she would take the politics out of the Justice Department. But it turns out that what they mean by all of that is that it's about anticonservative bias, not removing politically motivated investigations overall. To Trump and his MAGA allies, they see the moves that he's making, like going after Comey, as going after people who deserve it. Frankly, though, none of this is very surprising. Yes, Trump talked about ending weaponization, but he also - remember - said, quote, "I am your retribution," and he's certainly following through on that.
LIMBONG: And it's not just Comey, right? Remind listeners who else he's gone after.
MONTANARO: Yeah, I mean, Trump has tried to wrest control of lots of aspects of society. He's gone after the media with lawsuits to try and control the narrative. He pushed ABC, for example, to get Jimmy Kimmel, the comedian, off the air, using the FCC and licensing threats to operationalize what Trump wants.
He's gone after quasi-independent agencies like the Federal Reserve, the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; federal workers who don't, quote, "align" with his philosophy universities that don't adhere to what he wants to see taught or not taught or the types of people that they hire.
And of course, when it comes to the Justice Department, prosecutors were fired who investigated him and the January 6, 2021, siege at the Capitol. Plus he pardoned all of those convicted for their actions on January 6.
LIMBONG: Usually, there are traditional checks on this power of the executive. Not so much this time.
MONTANARO: Yeah, and it's quite the opposite. Republicans control both chambers of Congress, and they've only greased the wheels for his agenda and this retribution campaign. You know, he has an open ear at the Supreme Court after he appointed three justices during his first term that have swung the court to be more ideologically conservative. They haven't weighed in yet on this apparent political retribution effort, though, we should say.
And the only tension that continues here about Trump's philosophy of, you know, being able to put forward this retribution campaign and exerting total control has to be through the lower courts, and of course, that's where this Comey case is going to be heard.
LIMBONG: Yeah. This apparent retribution is happening despite the fact that Trump didn't face substantial consequences from any of the charges or investigations he's faced, right?
MONTANARO: Yeah, and the criminal charges against Trump are far more serious than the charges against Comey here. I mean, Trump was facing multiple counts in multiple courts on everything from fraudulent business practices in New York, which he was convicted on, to inciting the January 6 riots. You know, this case against Comey is a very short indictment, just two pages, with a former personal attorney of Trump's who's - just this week was sworn in as the U.S. attorney, and she's the only signee.
And on the substance, it's about alleged false statements to Congress, statements that the inspector general's office already investigated, about whether Comey authorized a leak about the existence of an investigation into the Clinton Foundation. The IG report stated that they found it highly improbable that Comey would have been approving of the leak. So on its face, this looks like a very thin case.
LIMBONG: All right, we got 3 1/2 years left in the Trump presidency. What should we expect going forward?
MONTANARO: I mean, you can expect more to come. I mean, just on Friday, in fact, Trump himself said that this is not about revenge, but about justice and that he, quote, "thinks that there will be others." So there are going to be a lot of people looking over their shoulders, and it may have a chilling effect, or it could make dissenters more dug in.
LIMBONG: Alright, that's NPR's Domenico Montanaro. Domenico, thanks so much.
MONTANARO: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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