Trump Doubles Down: Tries to Weaponize DOJ, Calls for Investigation Into the Democrats
‘A Lot of People Are Disappointed in the Justice Department, Including Me’
Six times in barely more than 12 hours President Donald Trump has attacked Hillary Clinton and the Democrats in what can only be called a demand on his own Dept. of justice to engage in political prosecution of his opponents.
Trump spent Thursday night and Friday morning attacking Clinton over the news revealed in former DNC chair Donna Brazile’s new book that the Clinton campaign secretly bailed out an essentially bankrupt DNC in 2015, one year before she officially become the Democratic nominee.
This, to Trump, is “Collusion,” literally with a capital “C,” a term he likes to use against Clinton in a shameless attempt at throwing off the real collusion stories against him.
Friday morning, as he was leaving D.C. for his 10-day trip to Asia, he wasn’t talking about Asia. He wasn’t talking about China or North Korea, but he was talking like one of their authoritarian dictators.
And in fact, Steve Reilly, an investigative reporter for USA Today noted:
U.S. routinely criticizes foreign regimes for prosecution of political opponents.
Trump suggested DOJ go after opponents 5X in last 24 hrs. pic.twitter.com/P1RQJAzr3X— Steve Reilly (@BySteveReilly) November 3, 2017
Trump told reporters the Justice Dept. “should be looking at the Democrats, they should be looking at Podesta and all of that dishonesty, they should be looking at a lot of things, and a lot of people are disappointed in the Justice Department, including me.”
Pres. Trump to @jonkarl: “A lot of people are disappointed in the Justice Department, including me.” https://t.co/4LDXafdn6W pic.twitter.com/fXuMXDYdQ1
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) November 3, 2017
This attack was just 13 hours after Trump’s tweets Thursday night, when he attacked “Crooked Hillary” Clinton. Friday morning, he went even further: “Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isn’t looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary & the Dems.”Â
Then, “At some point the Justice Department, and the FBI, must do what is right and proper. The American public deserves it!”
And more: “Pocahontas just stated that the Democrats, lead by the legendary Crooked Hillary Clinton, rigged the Primaries! Lets go FBI & Justice Dept.”
These attacks actually weren’t the first of the week. Earlier Thursday, speaking in a radio talk show interview, Trump, as The Washington Post reported, said:
“You know, the saddest thing is, because I am the president of the United States I am not supposed to be involved with the Justice Department. I’m not supposed to be involved with the FBI. I’m not supposed to be doing the kind of things I would love to be doing and I am very frustrated by it.â€
“I look at what’s happening with the Justice Department, why aren’t they going after Hillary Clinton with her emails and with her dossier, and the kind of money . . . I don’t know, is it possible that they paid $12.4 million for the dossier . . . which is total phony, fake, fraud and how is it used? It’s very discouraging to me. I’ll be honest.â€
The only difference between Trump and the authoritarian dictators he adores is he has, as far as we know, not been able to have DOJ and the FBI actually do what he’s demanding.
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