Democrats' sweeping gains in Congress have redrawn the balance of power in Washington, setting up an expected onslaught of investigations into the Justice Department's conduct.
asserted
gains → redrawn → conduct
Until now, the department had managed to avoid scrutiny from the majority party.
asserted
department → manage → party
For nearly two years it has functioned as an extension of the White House, unchecked by a Republican-controlled Congress as it pursued investigations into President Donald Trump's enemies, fired waves of career employees and defended administration stances that judges across the country repeatedly deemed legally dubious.
asserted
judges → function → country
The department has, at least publicly, appeared unbowed by the altered landscape.
asserted
department → appear → landscape
Attorney General Todd Blanche says the department will cooperate with Congress but has also insisted that “we will not back down” from the Republican president's agenda.
asserted
we → say → agenda
A top aide told prosecutors on a call to prepare for "wartime" footing, and a U.S. attorney publicly warned a top Democrat about planned congressional investigations.
asserted
attorney → tell → investigations
The stage is set for a pugilistic dynamic, with Democrats promising to join already-skeptical courts in reining in the Trump administration.
asserted
Democrats → set → administration
The Justice Department, depleted by the loss of thousands of career employees and the post-election departures of senior leaders, pledges to push its agenda forward.
asserted
Department → deplete → agenda
A call for a ‘wartime’ footing
Even though Democrats hold the gavel, they lack foolproof ways to guarantee Republican cooperation.
asserted
they → hold → cooperation
Lawsuits can take years, and subpoenas can be arduous to enforce.
asserted
subpoenas → take → years
Criminal contempt referrals for noncompliance would go to the Trump administration Justice Department, where they almost certainly won't be acted on.
asserted
they → go → Department
“It’s a standoff and I don’t know what the answer to that is yet,” said Stan Brand, a former general counsel for the House of Representatives.
asserted
Brand → ’ → Representatives
“I don’t know if the Congress knows.”
asserted
Congress → know → ?
Nonetheless, Democrats are eager to highlight what they view as abuses of power.
asserted
they → highlight → power
These include a succession of investigations the department has launched into the president's perceived adversaries, many of which grand juries have rejected, judges have dismissed, or that have otherwise stalled without apparent progress.
asserted
that → include → progress
The weeks leading up to the election alone were eventful.
asserted
weeks → lead → election
The department unsuccessfully sought an indictment against former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson.
asserted
department → seek → Hutchinson
It accelerated an investigation into Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar.
asserted
It → accelerate → Omar
It employed an unusual maneuver to file a fresh criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey.
asserted
It → employ → Comey
It also charged two ex-FBI officials in a complaint that a judge swiftly dismissed.
asserted
judge → charge → that
Political pressure from the White House is unlikely to wane given the promotion of Stephen Miller, a devoted Trump loyalist, to chief of staff.
asserted
pressure → wane → staff
Justice Department leadership has suggested it will not let Democrats' threats of investigations deter it from pursuing the White House's priorities, and may become even more aggressive in pressing the president's causes.
uncertain
threats → suggest → causes
“We will not back down.
asserted
We → back → ?
This will not slow us down.
asserted
This → slow → us
This will not stop us,” Blanche said in a Fox News interview Monday.
asserted
Blanche → stop → interview
“President Trump has two years remaining in this administration and you better believe that we’re going to use it effectively.”
asserted
we → have → it
In a call with U.S. attorneys across the country this week, a top Blanche aide, Aakash Singh, told prosecutors to prepare to be on "wartime" footing.
asserted
aide → tell → footing
He also suggested more U.S. attorneys may be pushed out after a spate of postelection departures, according to people familiar with the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal department discussions.
uncertain
who → suggest → discussions
The Justice Department said the “‘wartime’ reference had everything to do with public safety,” noting that some “newly elected state and local leaders are no longer interested in partnering with federal law enforcement.”
asserted
leaders → say → enforcement
Any additional U.S. attorney departures would add to a string of significant departures in the days after the election.
asserted
departures → add → election
Then, the Senate-confirmed leaders of the department's National Security, Civil and Civil Rights divisions all announced their resignations.
asserted
leaders → confirm → resignations
Early rhetorical clashes between lawmakers and the department
The divisions will have temporary leaders but are unlikely to get Senate-confirmed ones given the Democratic majority.
asserted
divisions → have → majority
“What that means for DOJ, potentially, is just a lot of inaction, with tough decisions not being made because typically those tough decisions are made by confirmed people at the top of the components,” said Greg Brower, a former U.S. attorney in Nevada during President George W. Bush's administration who was later the FBI's chief congressional affairs official.
asserted
who → mean → administration
The department said in a statement that it has “full confidence in the leaders stepping in to guide our Divisions, and its mission is unchanged: enforce the law, combat crime, and protect the American people.”
asserted
mission → say → people
Tensions between the Justice Department and an opposing party in Congress are a staple of oversight dating back decades and spanning administrations.
asserted
Tensions → oppose → administrations
The Republican-led House voted in 2012 to hold then-Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.
asserted
House → lead → Congress
Democrats did the same in 2019 when William Barr led the Justice Department.
asserted
Barr → do → Department
But the situation now is unlike anything the current department has experienced.
asserted
department → experience → anything
As the minority party in both the House and Senate, Democrats decried during hearings and in letters what they saw as the department's erosion of independence but had little power to demand accountability.
asserted
they → decry → accountability
On the rare occasion when the department did appear fazed by congressional oversight, it was generally because of Republican resistance, including over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files or an ultimately abandoned fund to compensate Trump allies.
asserted
it → appear → allies
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
