One of the government’s most awesome powers lies in its use of criminal law. How an administration uses that power — or chooses not to — reveals its priorities.
Setting the tone for his second term, one of President Donald Trump’s earliest actions was ordering blanket clemency for defendants convicted of charges related to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, including people who assaulted law enforcement and several who were convicted of seditious conspiracy. Trump also ordered the attorney general to dismiss pending Jan. 6 indictments.
In reaction to Trump’s first days in office, my colleague Steve Benen cited a phrase attributed to an authoritarian leader from another era: “For my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law.”
The quote might have been a guiding principle for Trump and his Department of Justice, which spent much of 2025 working to deliver on the president’s vow to prosecute his political opponents. But that was just the first of several cases that showed the Trump administration’s crime and punishment priorities in 2025.
This is a preview of Jordan Rubin's latest article. Read the full article here.
