President Donald Trump delivered what sounded like one of his typical meandering, grievance-laden campaign speeches on Friday, but it was where he did it — inside the U.S. Department of Justice — that mattered.
The appearance marked Trump’s clearest exertion yet of personal control over the country’s federal law enforcement apparatus, which is normally run by appointees who keep at least an arm’s length from the president to avoid the appearance that politics are governing prosecutorial decisions. Trump, instead, embraced the notion of the agency as his own personal tool of vengeance.
‘‘As the chief law enforcement officer in our country, I will insist upon and demand full and complete accountability for the wrongs and abuses that have occurred,‘’ Trump told the audience, with Attorney General Pam Bondi (who is technically the country’s chief law enforcement officer) and FBI Director Kash Patel in the audience.
One of Trump’s favorite campaign songs, ‘’YMCA,‘’ played after he wrapped up his nearly hourlong address inside the department’s ceremonial Great Hall.
Here’s a look at what Trump said, what the reality is and the significance of his words.
‘‘The same scum you have been dealing with for years. Guys like Andrew Weissmann, deranged Jack Smith. There’s a guy named Norm Eisen, I don’t even know what he looks like. His name is Norm Eisen of CREW; he’s been after me for nine years.‘’
Trump named lawyers and a legal nonprofit that he has tangled with over the years, which could serve as a roadmap for people he would like prosecuted by the officials in the room with him.