by Staff Report CTNewsJunkie
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) have introduced new legislation to enact guardrails to prevent the Trump Administration and future administrations from misusing the justice system to target or coerce political opponents.
The Prohibiting Political Prosecutions Act would create a right of action against federal officials who engage in malicious prosecution, enact grand jury reforms including the mandatory disclosure of exculpatory or impeachment evidence, prohibit White House instruction to the Justice Department concerning investigations and charging of individuals, and more.
“Under President Trump, traditions of professionalism at the Department of Justice have been trashed – requiring legislation to prevent weaponization of political revenge. Norms have been subverted and career prosecutors defending the rule of law are fired and replaced by political henchmen,” Blumenthal said. “This legislation installs safeguards — beginning with a right of action against federal officials who engage in malicious prosecution and personal or political targeting.”
Blumenthal acknowledged some of the reforms are sweeping, but said the threat the country faces is broad and unprecedented.
“There must be accountability for federal officials who use the vast power of prosecution for personal or political ends,” he said. “These reforms will make our justice system fairer for all Americans.”
Goldman said Trump has spent the past year using the Justice Department as an arm of political revenge.
“It has become clear that the Department of Justice needs additional safeguards to protect its independence from an out-of-control president,” he said.
Over the last several months, Trump and the Justice Department have initiated numerous investigations and prosecutions of Trump’s perceived political enemies, including:
- An investigation into six Democratic lawmakers – all of whom had previously served in the military or as part of the intelligence community – after the members posted a video urging American servicemembers to resist “illegal orders.” This week, a grand jury refused to indict those lawmakers.
- In January, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington, DC announced that it had opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell regarding his testimony about the costs of a Washington, DC headquarters renovation. The announcement came after Powell refused to bow to pressure by Trump and the White House to lower interest rates.
- In August, Trump called for the resignation of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and when she did not accede, purported to fire her. In September, after Cook contested the firing, the Department of Justice announced that it had opened an investigation into alleged mortgage fraud.
- In September, former Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Director James Comey was indicted following an apparent investigation into his role in looking into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. The indictment occurred only after Trump replaced the non-partisan, career prosecutor supervising the case with one of his own personal attorneys, because the career prosecutor concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring a case. The indictment was dismissed in November.