Trump Turned the Department of Justice into the Department of Injustice

Thanks to a terrible ruling by the Supreme Court in Trump v. United States, Trump is shielded from post-presidency criminal liability for actions taken within his official powers.

The ruling effectively vaporized the post-Watergate norm of the Department of Justice (DOJ) independence, allowing Trump to legally justify treating the DOJ as an extension of his presidency. This awful immunity ruling opened the door to complete control of the nation's watchdog for justice.

Look at what's happening in Alaska where the DOJ (on Trump's orders) filed an unprecedented, preemptive lawsuit seeking to block the certification of Alaska's U.S. Senate election results if the Republican incumbent Senator Dan. S. Sullivan loses his re-election bid.

One of the DOJ's complaints was that the ballot lists the senator as the "incumbent" rather than stating "Senator Dan Sullivan," arguing that many voters do not understand what the word incumbent means. In other words, the DOJ is saying Alaskan voters are idiots.

The lawsuit centers on the fact that there are two candidates with nearly identical names on Alaska's ballot.

Shell-shocked Americans have watched Trump turn the DOJ into his personal law firm. They've watched Trump's deputized goon squad seek vengeance on everyone who ever crossed Trump with whatever charges they can make up.

The institution that once aspired to norms of nonpartisanship and fact is rapidly buckling under the weight of falsehoods and misrepresentation. 

It's gotten so bad that judges who could once take for granted that the DOJ worked in the interest of something resembling justice are now openly questioning whether DOJ lawyers are even telling the truth.

Trump obtains indictments against his personal enemies by removing career prosecutors from the DOJ. After nearly two years into his presidency, he has replaced those career prosecutors with blatantly unqualified yes-men and yes-women.

What's happening with the DOJ is one of the most serious developments that Americans have ever seen. It's one of the most dangerous developments for democracy, and it's also one of the most dangerous developments for all of our personal safety.

As it Stands, it doesn't take a legal scholar to see Trump has weaponized the DOJ.