Criminal Justice & the Rule of Law

Was Trump’s Demand of the Justice Department Appropriate? Let the People Decide.

Matthew Weybrecht
Wednesday, June 6, 2018, 8:49 AM

Over the past week, President Trump has done a great many things that have raised alarm within the national security establishment. He has attacked his attorney general’s recusal from the Russia investigation, approvingly quoted a column describing the “Stormtrooper tactics” of the Mueller investigation, and, most recently, declared his right to pardon himself.

(Photo: Matthew Kahn)

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Over the past week, President Trump has done a great many things that have raised alarm within the national security establishment. He has attacked his attorney general’s recusal from the Russia investigation, approvingly quoted a column describing the “Stormtrooper tactics” of the Mueller investigation, and, most recently, declared his right to pardon himself. But though the news moves quickly these days, it’s worth taking a look back at a controversy from a few weeks past: the president’s demand that the Department of Justice investigate the circumstances behind the FBI’s alleged use of an informant to infiltrate the Trump campaign. The news cycle may have moved on, but the incident—and the response—reveals a great deal about differing views of executive power and political accountability.

On May 20, Trump tweeted:


Matthew Weybrecht practices law in Washington, D.C. Prior to law school he served as an officer in 3rd Ranger Battalion, where he deployed three times to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. Matt then worked as a Special Agent at the U.S. Department of State. The views expressed are his own.

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