Example Image
Civitas Outlook
Topic
Politics
Published on
Jan 27, 2022
Contributors
John Yoo
Victoria Toensing

Prosecute the Architects of Trump Lawfare for Election Interference

Contributors
John Yoo
John Yoo
Senior Research Fellow
John Yoo
Victoria Toensing
Victoria Toensing
Victoria Toensing
Summary
Rather than revenge, the Justice Department should defend the constitutional rights of candidate Trump and his voters.
Summary
Rather than revenge, the Justice Department should defend the constitutional rights of candidate Trump and his voters.
Listen to this article

In his second inaugural address, President Donald Trump declared that the “weaponization of our Justice Department and our government will end” and that he would “re-balance” the scales of justice. He now faces an important decision: whether to investigate the founders of the lawfare campaigns against him — beginning with New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg. He would have at his disposal the same legal theory that the Biden Justice Department constructed just for him: interfering with the presidential election deprived Americans of their constitutional rights to run for office and vote.

Special Counsel Jack Smith announced this unprecedented theory by charging Trump with depriving all Americans of their voting rights by challenging the outcome of the 2020 election.

The demise of independent counsels, which had a very low threshold to trigger appointment, illustrates how Democrats respond when feeling the sting of onerous investigations. Democrats loved the 1978 Independent Counsel Act, which was used five times against the Reagan administration and twice against George H.W. Bush. It was “good government” until it wasn’t. When the Clinton administration got hit with seven independent counsels, enough was enough. Democrats cheered its expiration in 1999, having discovered it was too costly.

Continue reading the entire article at The Federalist

10:13
1x
10:13
More articles

The Civitas Outlook Energy Symposium

Economic Dynamism
Jan 21, 2026

The War on Affordable and Abundant Energy Continues

Politics
Jan 21, 2026
View all

Join the newsletter

Receive new publications, news, and updates from the Civitas Institute.

Sign up
More on

Politics

Liberal Democracy Reexamined: Leo Strauss on Alexis de Tocqueville

This article explores Leo Strauss’s thoughts on Alexis de Tocqueville in his 1954 “Natural Right” course transcript.

Raúl Rodríguez
Politics
Feb 25, 2025
Long Distance Migration as a Two-Step Sorting Process: The Resettlement of Californians in Texas

Here we press the question of whether the well-documented stream of migrants relocating from California to Texas has been sufficient to alter the political complexion of the destination state.

James Gimpel, Daron Shaw
Politics
Feb 6, 2025
Who's That Knocking? A Study of the Strategic Choices Facing Large-Scale Grassroots Canvassing Efforts

Although there is a consensus that personalized forms of campaign outreach are more likely to be effective at either mobilizing or even persuading voters, there remains uncertainty about how campaigns should implement get-out-the-vote (GOTV) programs, especially at a truly expansive scale.

Grant Ferguson, James Gimpel, Mark Owens, Daron Shaw
Politics
Dec 13, 2024
National Poll from Civitas Institute: Trump Victory Driven by Voters Who Reject Status Quo

The poll asked 1,200 Americans an array of questions about how things are going in America.

Daron Shaw
Politics
Dec 11, 2024

The Three Whiskey Happy Hour

Steven Hayward brings you the Power Line Blog's perspective on the week's big headlines.

View all
** items
The end of green energy

Politics
Jan 13, 2026
Joel Kotkin: Trump aside, Canada and the U.S. need to co-operate

Our economies are linked; we more the same language and we're learning that mass, unregulated immigration is no solution to economic sloth

Politics
Jan 7, 2026
Can social democracy save capitalism — again?

Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration this week as New York City mayor is a moment of reckoning for those who care about preserving the American way of life.

Politics
Jan 6, 2026
Why are Zoomers embracing extremist ideas?

Conservatives have rightly denounced the extremist tendency among young progressives, but there’s a similar problem now evident on the Right.

Politics
Dec 22, 2025

Kotkin: Non-Aligned Nations Navigating a Multipolar World

Politics
Aug 19, 2025
1:05

Wall Street Journal: Donald Trump Takes On the Conservative Judiciary

Politics
Jun 2, 2025
1:05

Trump’s Drug Pricing Plan: Consequences for Innovation and Patient Access

Politics
May 13, 2025
1:05

John Yoo: The DOJ Is Being ‘Tricky’ but They May Be Right

Politics
Mar 18, 2025
1:05

John Yoo: How Will Trump Try to ‘Redirect’ the Justice Department Toward ‘Public Order and Safety’?

Politics
Mar 14, 2025
1:05
No items found.
No items found.
The War on Affordable and Abundant Energy Continues

With climate litigation faltering, the decarbonization effort is shifting to state legislatures.

Michael Toth
Politics
Jan 21, 2026
The Case for a U.S. – Canadian Union

Given the immensity of common interests among them, why haven't the U.S. and Canada struck up a formal economic union?

Arthur Herman
Politics
Jan 20, 2026
Selling America Short

What has enhanced America’s reputation are the sacrifices we have made for our long-term self-interest.

Politics
Jan 19, 2026
Trial Lawyers and the Future of Oil & Gas in the Bayou

Michael Toth reports on the Supreme Court case that will determine whether oil and gas companies can stop politically-connected Louisiana trial lawyers from fleecing them.

Michael Toth
Politics
Jan 19, 2026
No items found.