BELIEFS THAT DIVIDE A NATION - CHAPTER 2

RULE OF LAW AND JUSTICE

Jul 05, 2025

Links to prior posts in this series are located at the end of this post.

Equal Application vs. Weaponization

Imagine you're watching someone rob a bank. They take the money, walk out calmly, and when the police arrive, they point at the security guard and scream "He's the real criminal. He's weaponizing law enforcement against me."

That's American politics in 2025.

The people who spent four years turning the Justice Department into their personal law firm are now claiming they're victims of a "weaponized" justice system. The people who used federal prosecutors to target political enemies are crying persecution when those same prosecutors follow evidence wherever it leads.

And somehow, millions of Americans believe them.

When Justice Becomes a Weapon

Donald Trump didn't just break norms as president from 2017 to 2021. He shattered the foundational principle that separates democracy from authoritarianism: that justice serves law, not power.

He fired FBI Director James Comey in 2017 for investigating Russian interference. He pressured Attorney General Jeff Sessions throughout 2017 and 2018 to protect him from investigation. In his final weeks in office, he tried to use the Justice Department to overturn election results in Georgia. He ordered prosecutions of political enemies and demanded protection for political allies.

When that didn't work, he issued thirty-four pardons in his final weeks alone, most going to people who could implicate him in crimes.

For four years, Trump turned the Justice Department into what authoritarian leaders always turn it into: a tool for maintaining power rather than enforcing law.

But here's the truly diabolical part. Now, in 2024 and 2025, as he faces accountability for documented crimes—election interference, classified document theft, attempted coup coordination—he's convinced millions of Americans that legitimate prosecution is actually "weaponization."

It's not just projection. It's rehearsal for something worse.

What People Believe About Justice

The divide over Trump's prosecutions reveals something deeper than partisan disagreement. It shows two completely incompatible views of what justice means in America.

Those who support equal justice believe law applies to everyone, especially leaders. No one should be above accountability, regardless of political position or personal wealth. When prosecutors brought evidence to grand juries in 2023 and 2024 and grand juries voted to indict, that was the system working as designed. The fact that Trump himself appointed many of the judges overseeing his cases proves the system's independence, not its corruption.

Presidential immunity has limits. Nixon faced impeachment and would have faced prosecution if Ford hadn't pardoned him. The presidency is a temporary job, not a permanent shield from consequences.

Those who believe in Trump's victimhood see something entirely different. They believe the Justice Department, FBI, and courts are controlled by Democrats who manufacture cases against conservative leaders while protecting liberal ones. They see Trump's prosecutions, which began with indictments in 2023, as political persecution designed to prevent his return to power.

To them, the timing of indictments during the 2024 campaign season proved coordination. The fact that Democrats aren't prosecuted as aggressively proves bias. The whole system is rigged against conservatives, making Trump's legal troubles evidence of deep state conspiracy rather than criminal behavior.

But understanding what people believe only explains the surface. The real question is how one man convinced half the country that accountability equals persecution.

How "Weaponization" Became the Perfect Lie

Trump's "weaponization" claims work because they flip reality completely while sounding like legitimate criticism.

Every accusation is actually a confession. When Trump claims the Justice Department is weaponized, he's describing what he did from 2017 to 2021, not what's happening to him now. He fired federal prosecutors investigating him, pressured attorneys general to protect him, and used federal law enforcement against political enemies. Now he projects that behavior onto people following standard prosecutorial procedures.

Victimhood creates permission for revenge. Once Trump supporters believe he's being persecuted, anything he does in response seems justified. If the justice system is already weaponized against conservatives, then conservatives have the right to weaponize it back. It's not corruption—it's self-defense.

Media coverage amplifies the confusion. Mainstream outlets treat "weaponization" claims as legitimate political criticism rather than documented lies. They present Trump's prosecution as a political story—how it affects his campaign, what voters think about it—instead of a legal story about evidence and accountability.

Historical ignorance enables the manipulation. Most Americans don't know that federal prosecutors regularly investigate and prosecute political figures from both parties. They don't realize that refusing to prosecute clear crimes for political reasons would be actual weaponization. They've been taught to see normal accountability as abnormal persecution.

Republican officials amplify the lie for their own protection. When other Republican leaders echo "weaponization" claims, they're not only defending Trump. They're laying groundwork for their own immunity from future prosecution. If investigating Republicans becomes "political persecution," then Republicans can commit crimes with impunity.

The result is that actual justice gets rebranded as injustice while actual injustice gets rebranded as patriotism.

The Documented Reality

Let's examine what actually happened versus what Trump claims happened.

Trump's Justice Department was systematically politicized from 2017 to 2021. Attorney General Bill Barr intervened in cases involving Trump allies Roger Stone and Michael Flynn. Trump personally pressured prosecutors to reduce sentences for political allies and increase them for political enemies. He demanded investigations of Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and other Democratic figures without evidence of crimes.

Current prosecutions follow standard procedures. Grand juries of ordinary citizens reviewed evidence and voted to indict. The classified documents case involves straightforward criminal law—taking government secrets and refusing to return them. The election interference cases focus on documented attempts to overturn legitimate election results.

Trump-appointed judges are overseeing the cases. Federal judges Trump personally selected are making key rulings in his cases. If the system were rigged against him, his own appointees wouldn't be involved. The fact that they're following law rather than loyalty proves judicial independence, not judicial bias.

Republicans also face prosecution when evidence warrants. Senator Bob Menendez was indicted by Biden's Justice Department in 2023. Hunter Biden was prosecuted despite being the president's son. Democratic mayors, governors, and congressmen face regular prosecution when they break laws. Equal treatment means equal accountability.

International observers recognize legitimate prosecution. Legal experts from other democracies see Trump's cases as standard criminal accountability. The idea that former leaders should be immune from prosecution for documented crimes strikes foreign observers as fundamentally authoritarian.

Historical precedent supports prosecution. Other democracies regularly prosecute former leaders who break laws. South Korea, France, Israel, and other democratic allies have all held former prime ministers and presidents accountable for criminal behavior. America would be unusual for not prosecuting, not for prosecuting.

The evidence is overwhelming: Trump weaponized justice from 2017 to 2021 and now claims victimhood when facing accountability for that weaponization.

Why This Matters for Democracy's Survival

This isn't just about one man or one trial. It's about the future structure of power itself.

The "weaponization" lie isn't just about protecting Trump. It's about eliminating accountability for all future authoritarian behavior.

Democracy requires leaders who fear consequences. When political figures believe they're immune from prosecution, they have no incentive to follow laws. If Trump can steal classified documents, interfere in elections, and coordinate coup attempts without facing justice, every future authoritarian will know they can do the same.

Captured justice systems enable unlimited corruption. Once law enforcement serves political loyalty rather than legal evidence, democracy becomes impossible. Citizens lose faith in institutions, corruption becomes systematic, and power replaces law as the organizing principle of government.

The precedent enables future authoritarianism. If claiming "persecution" becomes a defense against prosecution, then any political figure can commit crimes and cry victimhood when held accountable. This creates a permission structure for unlimited lawbreaking by anyone with sufficient political support.

International credibility requires consistent accountability. When America lectures other countries about rule of law while refusing to prosecute obvious crimes by its own leaders, it destroys America's moral authority and democratic example. Dictators worldwide point to American hypocrisy to justify their own lawlessness.

Justice delayed often becomes justice denied. The longer prosecutions take, the more time Trump has to return to power and end them. If he wins the 2024 election, he's already promised to pardon himself and prosecute his prosecutors. The window for accountability is closing rapidly. Every delay increases the chance that Trump regains power—and ends the prosecutions himself.

Most dangerous of all: if accountability becomes "weaponization," then actual weaponization becomes "accountability." Trump has already promised to use the Justice Department against political enemies if he returns to power. His supporters will cheer it as justified revenge.

The Choice We're Making

This isn't about Republican versus Democrat. It's about whether law applies equally or whether power determines immunity.

The choice isn't between "fair prosecution" and "political persecution." It's between a justice system that serves law and one that serves whoever controls it. Between accountability that protects democracy and immunity that destroys it.

Every democracy faces this test eventually. Do you prosecute powerful people who break laws, knowing they'll claim persecution? Or do you let them escape accountability, knowing that encourages future lawbreaking?

South Korea chose prosecution and strengthened its democracy. Brazil chose prosecution and preserved its institutions. America is still choosing—and running out of time to choose correctly.

The people claiming the justice system is weaponized are the ones who actually weaponized it. The people demanding immunity from prosecution are the ones who need prosecution most. The people crying about political persecution are the ones planning to commit it.

Justice isn't being weaponized against authoritarians. It's being restored after authoritarians weaponized it.

The question is whether we'll let them weaponize it again by convincing us that accountability equals persecution.

Because once that lie takes hold, justice disappears and democracy follows.

But the window is closing. And once it shuts, the choice disappears with it.

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