The Department of Justice

Independent law enforcement is essential to a democracy rooted in the rule of law. The government’s law enforcement powers can be a grave threat to democracy if they are abused by authoritarian-minded leaders to punish enemies, shield themselves from accountability for wrongdoing, or interfere in the conduct of free and fair elections. Following the Nixon administration’s abuses during the Watergate era, Department leaders established formal policies aimed at reinforcing the historical norm of non-interference — policies embraced by leaders of both political parties in the decades since. 

In recent years, those policies have been deliberately dismantled. In a healthy democracy, the justice system must not be weaponized to punish political opponents, chill dissent, or pretextually achieve political objectives — all hallmarks of the authoritarian playbook. But democracy also requires a justice system in which no one is above the law, and prosecutions move forward even in politically significant cases so long as they are consistent with the law and nonpartisan criminal enforcement priorities. Both principles must hold. When either fails, the rule of law fails with it.

Retaliatory prosecutions as a political tool

DOJ’s politically-driven investigations are openly infused with improper political interference. Protect Democracy’s retaliatory action tracker documents a growing list of cases — targeting political opponents, state attorneys general, former officials, judges, and ordinary citizens — in which the evidence of defendant wrongdoing ranges from thin to nonexistent, and in which the charges depart sharply from normal DOJ policy and procedure. When the threat of prosecution is used to silence dissent or reward loyalty, it corrodes the foundations of equal justice under law.

Dismantling the guardrails against corruption

Since January 2025, DOJ has gutted the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division — an office created in response to Watergate that combated public corruption for nearly 50 years — reducing it from 36 career lawyers to two, and stripping it of its authority to file new cases or review potential prosecutions of public officials. The only reasonable interpretation of this action is that the administration wants to transfer responsibility for public corruption cases from career attorneys to political appointees heading U.S. attorneys’ offices — turning the prosecution of corruption from a nonpartisan function into a partisan one.

Career lawyers as a line of defense

DOJ’s career workforce — prosecutors, investigators, and lawyers who have served across administrations of both parties — remains one of the most important checks on politicization from within. Government lawyers should refuse to participate in illegal or unethical prosecutions. Courts should scrutinize and dismiss retaliatory prosecutions. And bar associations, charged with policing the legal profession, should vigorously discipline lawyers who abuse their powers and violate their ethical obligations. Protecting those who speak up, and holding accountable those who do not, is essential to restoring the DOJ’s independence over the long term.

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