Trump Flagrantly Targets Political Opponents in Executive Orders
Richard Nixon infamously drafted an "enemies list" of people he wanted to go after. At least Trump conducts his corruption out in the open.
In August 1971, during President Richard Nixon's first term in office, White House Counsel John Dean drafted a memo titled "Dealing with our Political Enemies."
"This memorandum addresses the matter of how we can maximize the fact of our incumbency in dealing with persons known to be active in their opposition to this Administration," Dean wrote. "Stated a bit more bluntly—how we can use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies."
The existence of a presidential "enemies list" was revealed amid hearings into the Watergate break-in; Nixon would ultimately resign in disgrace as Congress considered articles of impeachment.
Last week, President Donald Trump openly signed executive orders—in full view of the press—directing the Department of Justice to criminally investigate two people who publicly disagreed with him. He has also issued numerous orders targeting law firms for representing clients he does not favor, constituting clear shakedown attempts.
If there is anything to be said for the current administration, at least Trump is practicing his corruption out in the open.
On April 9, Trump signed two executive orders targeting members of his first presidential administration: Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Chris Krebs, who ran the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
Taylor wrote an anonymous op-ed in The New York Times claiming to be "part of the resistance inside the Trump administration" and later published A Warning, a 2019 book credited to "Anonymous" detailing Trump's unfitness for office. Krebs, meanwhile, earned Trump's ire for disputing the claim that the 2020 election, which Trump lost, was stolen.
"Taylor abandoned his sacred oath and commitment to public service by disclosing sensitive information obtained through unauthorized methods and betrayed the confidence of those with whom he served," according to the executive order. "This conduct could properly be characterized as treasonous and as possibly violating the Espionage Act." The order directed federal agencies to suspend any security clearances Taylor may still have, and for the DHS to "review Miles Taylor's activities as a Government employee."
In the Oval Office, Trump called Taylor's book "a work of fiction," and its publication "unfair," before signing the order. "We're gonna find out whether or not somebody's allowed to do that," he added. "I think he's guilty of treason, if you want to know the truth."
Treason, of course, is a federal crime committed when someone "levies war against [the United States] or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere," and the punishment could include execution.
It's perfectly legal for a former government official to write a book about the president—they do it all the time, including many others from Trump's first term. Taylor may have violated federal laws if he did disclose classified information, though nothing would rise to the level of "treason" or anything close. Besides, Trump himself is no stranger to the misuse or mishandling of classified information.
"Dissent isn't unlawful. It certainly isn't treasonous," Taylor wrote on X. "Never has a man so inelegantly proved another man's point.
The other order Trump signed that day, targeting Krebs, similarly called for a federal law enforcement investigation against a private citizen for speech protected by the First Amendment.
Among other things, the order charged that "Krebs, through CISA, falsely and baselessly denied that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen, including by inappropriately and categorically dismissing widespread election malfeasance and serious vulnerabilities with voting machines."
Under Krebs' tenure, CISA released risk assessments showing the safeguards built into voting methods, like voting by mail, were sufficient to prevent large-scale fraud, even as Trump insisted it was unreliable. After the election, as Trump flailed about claiming his loss was the result of widespread fraud, CISA signed on to a joint statement calling it "the most secure in American history."
"There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised," the statement continued. "While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too."
Trump's order directed the DHS and the U.S. attorney general to investigate Krebs' tenure at CISA, as well as a "comprehensive evaluation of all of CISA's activities over the last 6 years."
"This guy Krebs was saying, 'oh, the election was great, it was great,'" Trump said mockingly when signing the order, even pushing the Mafia comparison into parody by calling Krebs a "wise guy."
"It was proven by so many different ways in so many different forums," Trump added, that 2020 "was a very corrupt election." Numerous analyses, including a 2022 report by numerous conservative legal scholars, concluded that Trump legitimately lost in 2020.
Trump has been very clear that his second term would be all about retribution—payback on those he feels wronged him since his first term. He has repeatedly weaponized the power of the federal government to do so, including in cases where he says the power of the government was weaponized against him.
Since reentering office in January, Trump has repeatedly issued executive orders targeting law firms that have represented Democrats in the past, declaring the firms off limits for federal contractors and banning their attorneys from federal buildings, including courthouses. Among the targets is Susman Godfrey, which successfully negotiated a $787 million judgment against Fox News for uncritically airing false information about Dominion Voting Systems after the 2020 election. An executive order issued on the same day as those targeting Taylor and Krebs contended that Susman Godfrey "spearheads efforts to weaponize the American legal system and degrade the quality of American elections" and should be banned from federal buildings.
While some firms have fought back, others have caved to Trump's demands, collectively pledging to provide nearly $1 billion in free legal services to conservative causes. When signing the orders against Taylor and Krebs, Trump even bragged about the success of his shakedown attempts, marveling at "all these lawyers and law firms that are signing, giving us hundreds of millions of dollars."
"We reject efforts to undermine the courts and the profession," William R. Bay, president of the American Bar Association, said in a statement. "We will not stay silent in the face of efforts to remake the legal profession into something that rewards those who agree with the government and punishes those who do not."
"President Trump's ongoing retaliation against law firms for representing clients or causes he opposes should concern all Americans, regardless of their political beliefs. It not only violates the First Amendment but also undermines access to vigorous legal representation, especially for anyone up against those in power," wrote Aaron Terr of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). "You don't need to feel sympathy for large law firms—or support the clients or causes they represent—to see the danger in a president abusing his authority to bend the legal system to his will. Trump isn't just punishing these firms—he's chilling legitimate advocacy and eroding the core principle that everyone has a right to legal representation."
In the first 80 days of his second term, Trump issued 18 orders pertaining to free speech and the press, engendering 30 lawsuits alleging First Amendment violations, according to a FIRE analysis. Comparatively, many of Nixon's worst offenses took place behind the scenes, away from prying eyes. Perhaps it's a small comfort that Trump is at least committing his flagrantly unconstitutional actions in full view of the public.
