President Donald Trump delivered a speech at the Justice Department on Friday in which he made a point of bringing up past political enemies, including those within the agency.
He claimed the work of some media outlets was “illegal” and appeared to suggest that the agency should investigate a nonprofit that had in the past angered him, all while demonizing career officials who work as law enforcement there.
It’s rare for U.S. presidents to speak at DOJ headquarters, a tradition that’s rooted in a desire to maintain the notion that federal law enforcement operates with a degree of independence from the politics of the White House — but he went anyway, even as he’s under fire for trying to turn the Justice Department into a retributive arm to enforce his political views.