‘Path to dictatorship’: Outcry after Trump urges Justice Department to charge his enemies
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US Senator Chuck Schumer said of turning the Justice Department into an instrument that goes after US President Donald Trump’s enemies: “I think it’s a real threat to democracy.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – The top US Democratic senator warned on Sept 21 that President Donald Trump’s call for the US Justice Department to take action against his enemies puts America on a path to dictatorship.
Turning the agency “into an instrument that goes after his enemies, whether they’re guilty or not... is the path to a dictatorship”, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on CNN. “That’s what dictatorships do.”
He added: “I think it’s a real threat to democracy.”
Mr Trump publicly urged his US Justice Department on Sept 20 to take action against his perceived enemies
In a social media post addressing “Pam” – apparently US Attorney-General Pam Bondi – Mr Trump fumed over the lack of legal action against California Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney-General Letitia James, both Democrats.
Mr Schiff and Ms James are among a handful of people who have been accused by a close Trump ally, US Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, of falsifying documents on mortgage applications.
“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Mr Trump said.
On Sept 19, Mr Trump fired the federal prosecutor
Mr Erik Siebert, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, told staff of his resignation via an e-mail on Sept 19, The New York Times and other US media outlets reported.
“I fired him, and there is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so,” Mr Trump said Sept 20, apparently referencing the probe into Ms James.
On Sept 19, asked by a reporter to comment on the case, Mr Trump said: “I am not following it very closely. It looks to me like she’s very guilty of something, but I really don’t know.”
Mr Schiff and Ms James have separately clashed with Mr Trump in prior years, leading investigations that the Republican US president alleges were political witch hunts.
During Mr Trump’s first term in the White House, Mr Schiff, then a member of the US House, led the prosecution at the US president’s first impeachment trial, which was based on allegations he pressured Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election.
After Mr Trump left the White House, Ms James brought a major civil fraud case against him, alleging he and his company had unlawfully inflated his wealth and manipulated the value of properties to obtain favourable bank loans or insurance terms.
A state judge ordered Mr Trump to pay US$464 million (S$596 million) in that suit, but a higher court later removed the financial penalty while upholding the underlying judgment. AFP
