The Trump administration has created a new multiagency body to investigate President Donald Trump’s perceived enemies, according to an investigation by Reuters.
Newsweek contacted the White House, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for comment on Tuesday outside regular working hours.
Why It Matters
During the 2024 presidential election campaign, Trump told his supporters “I am your retribution.” In recent weeks, criminal charges have been filed against former national security adviser John Bolton, former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. All three have either been involved in investigations of Trump or been highly critical of him.
On Saturday, millions of Americans across the country protested against Trump in a series of “No Kings” demonstrations. For those opposed to the president’s actions, the Reuters report may add to concerns that the White House is using the power of the state in a bid to intimidate and silence its critics. However, supporters of the president will likely see this as a response to the series of investigations involving Trump during the Biden administration.
What To Know
According to Reuters, the new body—called the Interagency Weaponization Working Group—has been active since at least May and includes dozens of personnel from the White House, FBI, CIA, Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Justice, Defense and Homeland Security departments.
Fox News Digital confirmed the group’s existence, quoting Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard as saying, “I stood up this working group to start the important work of interagency coordination under President Trump’s leadership to deliver accountability.”
Citing officials, Fox reported that the group had been meeting twice a week since April to “share information, coordinate, and execute.”
Reuters spoke with one official who said the group was designed to “basically to go after ‘the Deep State,’” a term used by Trump supporters to refer to what they believe is a left-leaning permanent bureaucracy rooted in the federal government.
The official added that those the group discussed included Comey, Trump’s former chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci, former President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden and military leaders who implemented orders that made the coronavirus vaccine compulsory for U.S. service personnel.
A source also indicated that the working group was targeting officials involved in investigating alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
An unnamed senior official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told Reuters that there was “no targeting of any individual person for retribution.”
Based on government documents, Reuters said it had identified 39 people involved with the Interagency Weaponization Working Group, and a source told the outlet that Justice Department attorney Ed Martin was a leading figure.
On January 20, almost immediately after his second inauguration, Trump signed an executive order instructing his new attorney general to collaborate with other federal agencies “to identify and take appropriate action to correct past misconduct by the federal government related to the weaponization of law enforcement and the weaponization of the Intelligence Community.”
Before leaving the White House in January, Biden issued a series of preemptive pardons, including to his son, Fauci and anti-Trump Republican Liz Cheney.
What People Are Saying
Olivia Coleman, a spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, told Reuters: “Americans deserve a government committed to deweaponizing, depoliticizing and ensuring that power is never again turned against the people it’s meant to serve.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News Digital: “Joe Biden’s Department of Justice targeted President Trump and anyone close to him, prosecuted pro-life advocates, treated parents at school board meetings as domestic terrorists, and destroyed public trust in federal law enforcement.”
She added: “Under President Trump, we are working every day alongside our partners to end weaponization and restore one tier of justice for all.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration’s targeting of perceived opponents will lead to more criminal prosecutions. Any such move will likely spark fresh accusations of authoritarianism from critics.
