Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) recently told late-night host Stephen Colbert, "We've never had a president that has spent his time thinking about how he's going to use the [Justice Department] to go after political enemies."
To supporters of President Trump, the Kelly's statement borders on delusional. For the last four years, Joe Biden made it clear that he would stop at nothing to end Donald Trump's political career. In 2022, Biden told reporters, "I'm making sure he, under legitimate efforts of our Constitution, does not become the next president again."
Post-election, The Washington Post reported that Biden regretted appointing Merrick Garland as attorney general, blaming him for not moving aggressively enough to prosecute his rival for the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump, for his part, has accused the Biden administration of collaborating with New York attorney general Letitia James's (D) civil case against him, citing as circumstantial evidence her visits to the White House on three separate occasions between April 2022 and August 2023. Those allegations are unsubstantiated -- but to Trump voters, they are all too plausible.
Trump, now president once again, is frustrated, and he is angry. And who can blame him? For more than a decade, Democrats have employed every dirty political trick imaginable against him. They have lied about him, impeached him twice, brought ridiculous lawsuits and imposed outrageous fines for minor offenses. He has also survived two assassination attempts.
He wants retribution, recently complaining in a Truth Social post directed to his attorney general, Pam Bondi, "What about Comey, Adam 'Shifty' Schiff, Leticia??? They're all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done." He concluded, "JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!" He has seen allies like Steve Bannon, Peter Navarro, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and others sentenced to prison, and he wants accountability.
For Trump's supporters, it would be very satisfying to see California Sen. Adam Schiff (D) try to explain to a jury his many self-serving and destructive lies about the president. And what MAGA Republican wouldn't cheer at the idea of James being tried and found guilty of mortgage fraud?
But rushing into battle with inadequate ammunition and untrained troops is not the way to win a war.
Trump recently pushed out Erik S. Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, supposedly because he claimed he could not build a winning case against James. Trump has replaced Siebert with a White House aide who is now expected to pursue the charges, but who apparently has no prosecutorial experience. This is a mistake. For Trump, failing in court would be the worst outcome possible; he does not want a triumphant Letitia James.
Trump noted in his Truth Social message: "We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility." He's right; social media posts reflect frustration that the president's opponents have not been penalized for their duplicity.
That impatience stems partly from disappointment in the outcome of other high-profile investigations, like the House inquiry into allegations of influence-peddling and other illicit activities by the Biden family. Led by Hunter Biden and aided by Joe, the family raked in millions of dollars from China, Russia and other unsavory sources. Despite damning bank statements, first-hand accounts of Joe Biden's long-denied involvement in his son's activities and revelations of the bewildering web of transactions that enriched Hunter and his family; no one was accused of a crime, and no one went to jail. Former President Biden (or his autopen) pardoned his son and every other member of the family for crimes they claim were not committed.
The Bidens were not the only Trump adversaries who escaped retribution. Hillary Clinton is still a heroine to the left, even after having kicked off the Russiagate smear that clouded and impeded Trump's first term in the White House.
James Comey was also critical to the Russiagate scandal, overseeing a politicized and adversarial FBI that worked to undermine the Trump presidency. Trump wanted him charged with lying to Congress during his 2020 testimony regarding the Russia probe. The statute of limitations is five years for perjury, and that five years would have lapsed in just a few days; which helps explain his indictment yesterday.
James proudly campaigned on bringing Trump down. She pursued legal charges and penalties against the president that were laughable. But because the proceedings played out in Democrat-friendly New York, she succeeded and ultimately threatened his financial empire.
There are at least a dozen players who maliciously and purposefully acted against Trump. Few have faced any legal consequences. Democrats and their allies in the liberal media are horrified that the president might seek justice for perceived wrongs committed against himself or his administration. Like Kelly, they willfully ignore the lawfare waged against Trump these past several years.
The New York Times wrote in a recent article that Trump's removal of Siebert is "an apparent challenge to the fundamental principle enshrined in the Justice Department's rulebook of investigating crimes rather than targeting out-of-favor individuals to uncover potential wrongdoing."
The Times should pause to consider whether Letitia James didn't just spend millions of taxpayer dollars investigating misstated Trump property values -- a common occurrence in real estate lending -- or targeting a political enemy. The answer is clear to voters, if not to the Times.
In reality, Trump has been vindicated. He won reelection against stunning odds and in spite of opposition from nearly every institution in the country, including academia and the legacy media. The president should console himself that winning the popular vote last year is proof the American people dish out comeuppance in their own common-sense manner. Polls showed in 2024 that a solid portion of the country thought the case brought against Trump accusing him of falsifying business records was politically motivated; they were of course right.
Trump should revel in his victory, deliver for the American people and not risk everything by rushing to prosecute unwinnable cases.