Donald Trump just announced that he would use the FBI to prosecute his political rivals, should he become the next President of the United States. He appeared on Univision, a Spanish-language television network, on Nov.9th, during which he and the host, Enrique Acevedo, had a conversation about the former president’s various legal battles. “If I happen to be president and I see somebody who’s doing well and beating me very badly,” Trump said, “I say go down and indict them.” Many political figures then urged American citizens to listen closely to what Trump is saying, like Hilary Clinton, who said, “Take him at his word.”
Prosecuting political rivals is a key component of authoritarian regimes, and Trump’s recent interview is not the first time in the recent past that he’s discussed some of the anti-democratic actions he would take if he won the presidency. Keep reading for more information.
Donald Trump says he would 'weaponize' the FBI against political rivals
Enrique Acevedo asked Donald Trump on Univision this past Thursday, "You say they've weaponized the justice department, they weaponized the FBI. Would you do the same if you’re re-elected?"
Trump confidently replied that he would, without hesitation. "They’ve already done it, but if they want to follow through on this, yeah, it could certainly happen in reverse. They’ve released the genie out of the box," he said.
"When you're president and you've done a good job and you’re popular, you don’t go after them so you can win an election. They've done indictments in order to win an election. They call it weaponization," he continued. Trump has often called his political rivals "criminals" and "liars" during his campaign events.
“But yeah," he confirmed. "They have done something that allows the next party, I mean if somebody, if I happen to be president and I see somebody who’s doing well and beating me very badly, I say go down and indict them, mostly they would be out of business. They’d be out. They’d be out of the election."
Political response
Many leading political figures had a lot to say about Trump's latest statement. Former secretary of state Hilary Clinton spoke directly to American citizens while on ABC's The View, saying "Trump is telling us what he intends to do. Take him at his word."
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie agreed, saying on CNN after Trump's Univision interview, "This is outrageous. You had good folks like Bill Barr who were keeping him on the rails and stopping him from doing stuff like this at the justice department," he said of the former United States attorney general who served in Trump’s administration from 2019-2020.
"Nobody as good and decent and honest as Bill Barr is gonna agree to be Donald Trump’s attorney general if he ever becomes president again," he continued.
Phil Mattingingly, CNN's chief White House correspondent also reacted to Trump’s statements, saying, "Those aren’t flippant 'ha-ha funny' remarks. That's insane." And Elie Honig, CNN's chief legal analyst, agreed, responding, "If he says he’s gonna do this, I believe him. Take him at his word."
Ron Fein, the legal director of Free Speech for People said, "The dangers are not merely theoretical. We saw what happened on Jan. 6th, 2021," he stated, speaking of the attack on the United States Capitol Building by many of Donald Trump's supporters. "If he's allowed back into power that might be child's play compared to what he'll do in the future."
Currently, Trump is facing four separate criminal cases, including two different federal ones surrounding his handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn the election. He's also the subject of a $250M fraud lawsuit, in which New York attorney general Letita James is suing him for fraudulently inflating the value of his properties and assets in financial statements to obtain perks such as tax breaks and better bank loans.
