Trump Political Foes Under Justice Department Investigation
- The Justice Department called the suit "frivolous" in a legal filing Tuesday.
- Ellison told reporters Tuesday that the whole situation was "highly irregular, especially the fact that this comes shortly after my office sued the Trump Administration to challenge their...
- "I will not be intimidated, and I will not stop working to protect Minnesotans from Trump's campaign of retaliation and revenge," he said.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to end the ”weaponization” of the Justice Department, saying the previous administration abused its power to investigate political opponents.
But in recent weeks, the Justice Department has started investigating Trump’s political adversaries, including one of his former opponents in the 2024 election, the head of the Federal Reserve and a former cable TV critic.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, the president suggested more was on the way. speaking of the 2020 presidential election – which he lost by more than 7 million votes- Trump said, “it was a rigged election. Everybody now knows that. … People will soon be prosecuted for what they did.”
He did not elaborate, but the remark came about one week after The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had been complaining that the Justice Department hadn’t yet taken any action related to the 2020 election. NBC News has not independently confirmed the reporting, which was attributed to people familiar with the president’s complaints.
The five-year statute of limitations on any crimes committed in 2020 has already expired, but some Trump allies have suggested they could get around that if they can identify a criminal conspiracy that continued until more recently.There’s been a surge of activity from the Justice department in the days since.
J. Michael Luttig, a retired federal appeals court judge, told NBC News that the administration’s actions are “beyond all comprehension.”
“At this early point in his second term, Donald Trump has himself defined his presidency as one of vengeance and retribution,” Luttig said.
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment on the burst of activity, while White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson called “the premise for this article laughable” in a statement and complained the “mainstream media turned a blind eye when Joe Biden weaponized his Department of Justice against his political opponents.”
“President Trump and his administration are restoring integrity to the Justice Department that Joe Biden broke — and we will absolutely enforce the law and hold criminals accountable. Democrats just must not be used to that,” the statement said.
During this second term, the trump administratio
The Justice Department called the suit “frivolous” in a legal filing Tuesday.
Ellison told reporters Tuesday that the whole situation was “highly irregular, especially the fact that this comes shortly after my office sued the Trump Administration to challenge their illegal actions within minnesota.”
“I will not be intimidated, and I will not stop working to protect Minnesotans from Trump’s campaign of retaliation and revenge,” he said.
Renee Good’s partner
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“Renee and Becca Good were responsible community members who lived peacefully and did not engage in harmful conduct toward others, including the federal agents involved on January 7, 2026,” Good’s attorneys said in a statement last week.
Minnesota protesters – and Don Lemon
The Justice Department is also investigating another protest in Minnesota where demonstrators went into a St. Paul church and disrupted services,alleging an ICE official is a pastor there. NBC News has not verified a connection.
Trump called the protest a “church raid” by “agitators and insurrectionists” in a Truth Social post this week, and said the demonstrators “are troublemakers who should be thrown in jail, or thrown out of the country.”
He also reposted a message from another user calling for former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who livestreamed the protest, to be locked up and blasted him as a “loser” during remarks at the White House on Tuesday.
Bondi announced Thursday that federal agents with Homeland Security and the FBI had arrested activists Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen in connection with the protest.
The White House celebrated the arrest in posts on X. “WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,” it said in one.
Jordan Kushner, Armstrong’s attorney, told NBC News in a phone call Thursday that his client was “arrested for doing a peaceful nonviolent protest in a church” and that demonstrators “were engaged in an exercise of free speech.”
the department also tried, unsuccessfully, to charge Lemon. A federal magistrate judge in Minnesota rejected a criminal complaint against Lemon, accordin“`html
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, a longtime Trump ally, said in a post on X that her office had “contacted the federal Reserve on multiple occasions to discuss cost overruns and the chairman’s congressional testimony, but were ignored, necessitating the use of legal process – which is not a threat.”
Democratic lawmakers
A group of Democratic lawmakers whom Trump has accused of sedition said this month that they’re being investigated by federal prosecutors for their participation in a video urging members of the military and the intelligence community not to follow illegal orders.
Four of the six – Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Reps. Jason Crow of colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania –
Donald Trump Criticizes Jack Smith, Fani Willis, and Alvin Bragg
donald Trump has publicly criticized several individuals involved in legal cases against him, including former Special Counsel Jack Smith, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. He referred to all three as “sick,” according to reports from NBC News on January 23, 2024.
Legal Cases and Outcomes
The comments came after the dismissal of the cases led by Smith and Willis following Trump’s election victory.
* Jack Smith’s Case: Smith, appointed as special counsel, brought charges against Trump related to the handling of classified documents and alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The case was ultimately dismissed.
* Fani Willis’s case: Willis, the District Attorney for Fulton County, Georgia, charged Trump with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. this case was also dismissed.
* Alvin Bragg’s Case: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg secured a criminal conviction against Trump for falsifying business records. Trump is currently appealing this conviction. as of January 24,2026,the appeal is ongoing.
Trump’s Response and Claims
Trump asserted that he “won” and questioned the criticism he receives when he suggests someone might have committed a crime, framing it as “weaponizing government.” He maintained his innocence and stated that no one has faced what he has endured, notably while achieving a return to the White House.
On January 23, 2024, while Jack Smith was testifying before Congress, Trump posted on Truth Social, calling for the Attorney General to investigate Smith’s actions and the witnesses he used in the case against him, labeling the entire process a “Democrat SCAM.” He suggested those involved should “pay a big price.”
latest Verified status (as of January 24, 2026, 11:01:27): The appeals process for the conviction secured by Alvin Bragg is ongoing. The cases previously pursued by Jack Smith and Fani Willis have been dismissed. Trump continues to maintain his innocence and criticize those involved in the investigations.
Sources:
* NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-georgia-election-interference-case-dropped-rcna246069
* Truth Social Post (via NBC News): https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115939889414201547
* (General background information on the cases can be found via reputable news organizations such as the Associated Press,Reuters,The New York Times,and The Washington Post,but specific updates as of the date above were not available in the provided source.)