Trump's Retribution Campaign: A Growing Concern for Officials and Critics

President Trump's threats of retribution have long been a staple of his rhetoric, but his capacity to pursue charges against perceived enemies appears to be expanding, with a willingness to weaponize the federal government in unprecedented ways.

As Trump's second term progresses, he has taken aim at a wide variety of individuals and institutions, including law firms, universities, journalists, and federal bureaucrats, that he feels have crossed him, failed to fall in line, or embodied ideological values that he rejects. His focus has now shifted to targeting top officials from previous administrations, with the intelligence community launching a campaign to show that Obama and his aides wrongly sought to tie Trump to Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election.

Key Takeaways:

• Trump has repeatedly accused his perceived enemies of treason and attempted to push the F.B.I. and Justice Department to indict them, but none were ever charged.
• The current Justice Department, led by Trump loyalists, has shown a willingness to carry out Trump's personal agenda, dismissing prosecutors and dropping high-profile cases.
• The administration has targeted first-term officials who became public critics of Trump, such as Miles Taylor and Chris Krebs, and is now engaged in a campaign to show Obama and his aides should be held criminally liable.
• Trump's director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has released reports and documents that she claims show a "treasonous conspiracy" by Obama administration officials against Trump.
• The Justice Department has announced the formation of a task force to look into the allegations, which are unsubstantiated.
• Even if prosecutors lodged charges, prosecutions could be difficult due to presidential immunity for official acts.
• Trump has levied crippling executive orders against law firms and universities that had connections to investigations into the 2016 election, resulting in nearly $1 billion in pro bono work to causes he favors.

Statistics:

• Nearly $1 billion in pro bono work is being committed by law firms as a result of Trump's executive orders.
• Trump has made at least two major cuts to Harvard's research funding.
• The White House has informed Harvard of a new investigation, in addition to ongoing ones.
• Trump's administration has filed suit against The Wall Street Journal for its reporting on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Sources:

• The New York Times, On Tuesday, President Trump resurfaced several grievances he associated with what he considers a long campaign of persecution.
• The New York Times, This article appeared in print on page A17.
• Julian E. Barnes contributed reporting.