Weaponizing the DOJ

The Chilling “Notice of Removal” Sent to DOJ Prosecutors

Day 58 — January 27, 2025

“Notice of Removal from Federal Service”

Yesterday, the Acting Attorney General of the United States sent a memo to DOJ attorneys involved in aspects of the special investigations and prosecutions of President Trump for his actions during and at the end of his first term.

“You played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump,” the memo from the Acting Attorney General asserts. “As a result…you are removed from federal service effective immediately.”

On the one hand, my guess is that those receiving these memos did not expect to stay on at the DOJ for long. Knowing Trump, I sure didn’t expect them to.

On the other hand, the language in these memos is deeply disturbing—and a clear indication of how Trump intends to weaponize the DOJ just as Project 2025 proposed, and just as he promised in the campaign, when he repeatedly said: “And I will direct a completely overhauled DOJ to investigate every radical out-of-control prosecutor in America for their illegal, racist and reverse enforcement of the law.”

Rewriting History

First, the memos repeat the Trump lie that the DOJ was used by the previous administration “in a systematic campaign against its perceived political opponents, weaponizing the legal force of numerous Federal law enforcement agencies….Nowhere was that effort more salient than in the unprecedented prosecutions the Department of Justice vigorously pursued against President Trump himself."

Of course, the people receiving these letters—like those of us paying attention—know that this is an entirely false narrative. A rewriting of recent history.

Arguably, the reason Trump never faced accountability was because AG Garland was so concerned about the perceived weaponizing of the DOJ that he waited years to move forward. And after those years, he assigned the entire investigation/prosecution to a special/independent prosecutor (Jack Smith), whose team appeared to start from scratch well into the term. This team was sealed off from the DOJ to ensure the entire investigation was NOT tied to the sitting president. The recipients of these letters were part of that independent team.

Bottom line: the Acting Attorney General of the United States is engaging in egregious political propaganda and revisionist history in making these accusations. That alone is a terrible sign.

“The President’s Agenda”

Second, and even worse, the Acting Attorney General then states: “I do not believe that the leadership of the department can trust you to assist in implementing the President’s agenda faithfully.”

In this statement, the Acting Attorney General is expressing exactly the philosophy about how the DOJ should operate that Project 2025 proposed—which allows Trump to weaponize the Department in a way that neither Biden nor Garland ever did.

Last year, I wrote about the safeguards, bright lines, and checks-and-balances that keep a president from exacting political revenge through the federal government, and the DOJ in particular:

At the heart of those checks and balances has been the independence of the prosecutorial/litigation functions of the Department of Justice, as well as the independence of the FBI.

But those guardrails all disappear under Project 2025, which proposes a “top-to-bottom overhaul” (Page 547) in the DOJ. The heart of the Project 2025 plan is eliminating the DOJ’s independence from the White House and Trump. “While the supervision of litigation is a DOJ responsibility, the department falls under the direct supervision and control of the President of the United States as a component of the executive branch.” (Page 559).

The plan also makes clear that the FBI “is not independent from the department…and does not deserve to be treated as if it were.” (Page 549). One way to establish this: rather than a 10-year term, “[t]he Director of the FBI must remain politically accountable to the President in the same manner as the head of any other federal department or agency.” (552)

There are two key steps in eviscerating the DOJ’s independence: “First: flood the Justice Department with stalwart conservatives unlikely to say "no" to controversial orders from the White House. Second: restructure the department so key decisions are concentrated in the hands of administration loyalists rather than career bureaucrats.” (Reuters)

More on Step 1: the plan aims to “[e]nsure the assignment of sufficient political appointees throughout the department….The number of appointees serving throughout the department in prior Administrations—particularly during the Trump Administration—has not been sufficient either to stop bad things from happening through proper management or to promote the President’s agenda….It is not enough for political appointees to serve in obvious offices like the Office of the Attorney General or the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. The next conservative Administration must make every effort to obtain the resources to support a vast expansion of the number of appointees in every office and component across the department—especially in the Civil Rights Division, the FBI, and the EOIR. [Executive Office for Immigration Review.]” (Page 569).

More on Step 2: Project 2025 calls for tearing down barriers between the White House and the DOJ: “the Justice Department and the White House counsel should act ‘as a team.’ And while [Project 2025] notes that contact between the White House and the Department of Justice traditionally occurs between the office of the White House counsel and the attorney general or deputy attorney general — a practice that aims to reduce the risk of political interference in law enforcement — [Project 2025] encourages a new administration to ‘re-examine this policy and determine whether it might be more efficient or more appropriate for communication to occur through additional channels.’” (NYT)

Flush with political appointees and no longer held back by independence, Project 2025 makes it clear that “litigation decisions must be made consistent with the President’s agenda.” (Page 559).

And yes, that language is echoed by the memo sent by the Assistant Attorney General yesterday: “I do not believe that the leadership of the department can trust you to assist in implementing the President’s agenda faithfully.”

As I wrote last fall, according to PBS, “Project 2025 proposes placing the Justice Department squarely under Donald Trump's authority, doing away with any traditional independence that we usually see for the Justice Department and the attorney general. They want Donald Trump to install a loyal attorney general, install loyal lawyers across the board, and Trump himself has repeatedly said that he wants to do this.”

And the plan would “transform[] the FBI into a political task force.”

Yesterday’s memos make clear this is exactly what they’re doing.

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I was honored to work with the talented Richard Schiff and Morgan Fairchild on how such a weaponized DOJ would actually look and feel. Here’s our podcast episode laying that out.