Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton didn't hold back on Monday, escalating her criticism of President Donald Trump over allegations that paint a picture of a Justice Department under siege from political pressure.
A Scathing Report From Inside the DOJ
Clinton took to X to share a New York Times Magazine piece that's getting attention for all the right reasons. The investigation spoke with about 60 current and former DOJ attorneys, and their accounts describe what amounts to a year of internal chaos. According to the report, Trump repeatedly pushed department officials to go after political enemies and protect his allies, often brushing aside internal legal advice that said no.
"New information here on how Trump has turned the Department of Justice—which is supposed to work on your behalf—into his own personal law firm, punishing his enemies and rewarding his friends," Clinton wrote in her post.
Then she went further: "'Worse than Watergate' doesn't begin to cover it."
That's a heavy comparison. Watergate was the 1970s scandal where President Richard Nixon's administration tried to cover up a break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters. The subsequent investigation exposed massive abuses of power, ultimately forcing Nixon to resign. When someone invokes Watergate, they're signaling they think we're looking at a defining constitutional crisis.
Examples of Alleged Political Interference
Former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade amplified the New York Times Magazine report on X, warning that the public should be outraged by claims that Trump converted the Justice Department into his personal legal operation.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) made similar accusations last month, pointing specifically to the indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James as political payback. James herself dismissed the charges as politically motivated from the start.
Perhaps most telling: U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert resigned in September after refusing pressure to charge James when investigators couldn't find evidence of fraud. His departure came as Trump made clear he wanted Siebert gone for not pushing the case forward.
The pattern these critics see is straightforward: a Justice Department that's supposed to operate independently, making decisions based on evidence and law, instead functioning as a weapon against political opponents and a shield for political allies. Whether that characterization holds up will likely be debated for years, but the number of current and former attorneys willing to describe internal chaos suggests something unusual is happening behind the scenes.