By Yesterday, reports revealed that generals in the Department of Defense are afraid that Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, may hold them accountable for the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. It appears that they aren’t the only bureaucrats sweating the upcoming Trump Administration.
According to reports, the possibility of Attorney General Matt Gaetz has caused senior officials at the Justice Department and FBI to lawyer up. Sources close to the matter told NBC News that many fear criminal investigations into their conduct, a concern that has intensified following Trump’s decisive election victory and a promise to investigate the breaches of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of privacy that have been alleged to have occurred inside the Department of Justice over the past few years.
Everything we did was aboveboard,” said a former senior FBI official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Although skeptical about the likelihood of actual convictions, they acknowledged that lengthy investigations could still impose significant financial and emotional costs.
Earlier in the year, an investigation showed that FBI agents staged evidence photos when they raided the former president’s home. Jay Bratt, the lead Department of Justice prosecutor who was part of special counsel Jack Smith’s team revealed in a court filing that FBI agents brought “top secret” cover sheets to the Mar-a-Lago raid to serve as placeholders while collecting classified documents.
That wasn’t the only instance where DOJ officials seemed to cross the line, however. In 2023, the House Oversight Committee disclosed that the FBI had been spying on Catholic churches that preferred the Latin Mass because they feared that it could cause “extremism.”
Career FBI agents, in particular, feel vulnerable. These agents, who often depend on pensions after decades of public service, have little financial flexibility to endure drawn-out legal battles. “Agents don’t have options—they’ve invested their lives in public service,” the official explained. The appointment of Gaetz has only heightened these fears. A former Justice Department official pointed out that Gaetz’s selection signals Trump’s determination to reshape the department according to his vision. “Trump chose Gaetz because he knows Gaetz will do whatever Trump tells him to do,” the official added, suggesting that loyalty, rather than impartiality, may drive the department’s future decisions.
Many at the Department of Justice seem to be hoping that Gaetz will be blocked by the Senate, but on Monday, Trump announced that he has strategy to get his pick for attorney general in place. The president-elect plans to flex his political leverage, reportedly informing Senate Majority Leader John Thune that if the Senate fails to confirm his nominee, Rep. Matt Gaetz, as Attorney General, he intends to exploit a loophole in the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. The act permits temporary appointments to key positions for up to 210 days, with the option to extend for another 210 days, bypassing the need for Senate confirmation.
BREAKING: President Trump Tells Senate Majority Leader Thune That If Matt Gaetz Is Not Confirmed As AG He Will Use The Federal Vacancies Reform Act To Appoint Him @JeffClarkUS pic.twitter.com/zdIAyoX3gE
— Bannon’s WarRoom (@Bannons_WarRoom) November 18, 2024
Trump has plenty of allies in the Senate for reforming the Department of Justice. Senator Kevin Cramer, a Republican from North Dakota, sharply criticized the Justice Department as “corrupt” and “dangerous” during a Saturday interview with Fox Business host Larry Kudlow.
Appearing alongside Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, the two discussed President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial nomination of former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz for Attorney General. The announcement has sparked bipartisan skepticism over Gaetz’s ability to secure Senate confirmation, though neither Cramer nor Johnson appeared concerned about his qualifications. Johnson remarked he would approach the confirmation process with “an open mind,” while Cramer took the opportunity to blast the Justice Department for what he described as systemic corruption.
Cramer argued that the Justice Department, which he accused of weaponizing “lawfare” and utilizing its authority in a way that intimidates citizens, requires a complete overhaul. He described the agency as wielding “subpoenas, badges, and guns” and having the capacity for intrusive surveillance, though he stopped short of labeling all personnel as “bad apples.” He emphasized that Americans should not fear their government, adding, “The Justice Department needs to be the people that we’re least afraid of, not the people we’re most afraid of.”
Kudlow agreed, prompting further discussion about the department’s credibility and public trust under a potential Gaetz-led tenure.
The Daily Caller noted that Trump insiders believe that DOJ attorneys will resign en masse to avoid being fired by the incoming president.
“About thirty days into his presidency, President Joe Biden asked all Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys to resign. Trump allies now expect that the replacements who filed in thereafter may resign before the president-elect even takes office.
Biden’s Department of Justice ordered nearly all remaining Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys to hand in their resignation in February 2021. Prior to that, in March 2017, Obama-appointed U.S. attorneys were asked to resign immediately. Heading into Trump’s second administration, allies of the president-elect told the Daily Caller that they expect something similar to happen, with U.S. attorneys resigning before the 47th president can clean house.”
A source familiar with the transition process told the outlet, “I would expect actually, given the fact that most of the U.S. attorneys in place now are Biden appointees, confirmed by a Democrat Senate, that President Trump’s going to want to clear them out and then get his own people in there.”
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