When Deciding Whether To Investigate His Opponents, Trump Says, He Will Defer to ‘Very Fair’ Kash Patel
Donald Trump has repeatedly declared that various people who have crossed him, including state and federal prosecutors, members of Congress, and President Joe Biden, should be investigated, prosecuted, and jailed. But in a Meet the Press interview on Sunday, the president-elect said he would not direct his subordinates to follow through on those threats after he takes office on January 20. Trump told the show’s host, Kristen Welker, he would instead leave those decisions to his appointees at the FBI and the Justice Department.
That commitment is not exactly reassuring, since Trump’s pick to run the FBI, Kash Patel, has repeatedly threatened to “come after” Trump’s political opponents, including journalists as well as current and former government officials. Patel published an enemies list as an appendix to his 2023 book Government Gangsters, which alleges a “Deep State” conspiracy against Trump that Patel equates with a conspiracy to subvert democracy and the Constitution. The list, which includes 60 names, is limited to people who have served in the executive branch. Patel notes that it does not include “other corrupt actors of the highest order,” such as Rep. Adam Schiff (D–Calif.), Rep. Eric Swalwell (D–Calif.), and “the entire fake news mafia press corps.”
The list nevertheless covers a lot of ground. It includes Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Attorney General Merrick Garland, former Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch, FBI Director Christopher Wray, former FBI Director James Comey, Special Counsel Robert Hur, and sundry Trump appointees who have been critical of the former and future president, such as former Attorney General Bill Barr, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, and former National Security Adviser John Bolton.
All these people have irked Trump and his supporters in one way or another. In his Meet the Press interview, for instance, Trump complained that Wray, whom he appointed to run the FBI but now wants to replace with Patel, “invaded my home”—a reference to the August 2022 FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, which turned up 102 classified documents that Trump was supposed to have surrendered in response to a federal subpoena. Trump also faulted Wray for initially suggesting that Trump might have been injured by “shrapnel” rather than a bullet during the July 2024 attempted assassination at a rally in Pennsylvania.
According to Patel, Wray and the rest are guilty of “crimes” that justify their prosecution. Patel is hazy on the exact nature of those crimes.
“We will go out and find the conspirators—not just in government, but in the media,” he told former Trump strategist Steve Bannon during an interview in December 2023. “Yes, we’re gonna come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. We’re gonna come after you. Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out.”
Patel seems to have a lot of confidence in his ability to “figure that out.” His alter ego in his 2022 children’s book The Plot Againt the King, which allegorically explains how Trump’s enemies conspired to falsely implicate his 2016 presidential campaign, is “a wizard called Kash the Distinguished Discoverer.” Kash “was known far and wide as the one person who could discover anything about anything,” Patel writes. “He found the Holy Grape, deep in the Enchanted Forest, and he discovered who had stolen the sleeping princess.”
Trump, for his part, has argued that former Rep. Liz Cheney (R–Wyo.) and every other member of the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol are guilty of “treason,” which is punishable by death or by a prison sent
Article from Reason.com
The Reason Magazine website is a go-to destination for libertarians seeking cogent analysis, investigative reporting, and thought-provoking commentary. Championing the principles of individual freedom, limited government, and free markets, the site offers a diverse range of articles, videos, and podcasts that challenge conventional wisdom and advocate for libertarian solutions. Whether you’re interested in politics, culture, or technology, Reason provides a unique lens that prioritizes liberty and rational discourse. It’s an essential resource for those who value critical thinking and nuanced debate in the pursuit of a freer society.
