United States President Donald Trump, in a combative address at the Department of Justice on Friday, launched a scathing attack on judges, prosecutors, and officials from the previous Biden administration, vowing to hold them "accountable" and warning of legal action against his political rivals.
Addressing an audience at the Justice Department headquarters, Trump described his re-election as a public mandate to investigate alleged "abuses" under former President Joe Biden’s tenure. “I will insist upon and demand full and complete accountability for the wrongs and abuses that have occurred,” he declared.
The president’s remarks, seen by critics as an effort to settle political scores, reignited concerns that he might use his authority to target opponents. Throughout his 2024 campaign, Trump frequently referred to Democrats as “the enemy from within” and suggested they were more dangerous than foreign adversaries. He had also hinted at prosecuting figures such as Republican Liz Cheney and appointing a special counsel to investigate Biden.
Purging justice department
Since taking office for a second term on January 20, Trump has overseen the dismissal of thousands of federal employees, including career prosecutors involved in the two federal investigations against him—one concerning classified documents and another related to alleged election interference in 2020. Both cases were dropped following his election victory on November 5, in line with a Justice Department policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents.
During his speech, Trump portrayed the dismissals as part of a broader effort to “expel rogue actors and corrupt forces” from government. “Last month, I fired all the radical left pro-crime US attorneys appointed by Joe Biden,” he said, characterising them as “Marxists” and “corrupt,” though he conceded that some may have been “very good.”
His comments signaled the possibility of further removals. “It’s going to be legendary,” he remarked. “We will expose their egregious crimes and severe misconduct.”
Legal challenges and retribution
Trump, the first sitting or former US president to be criminally charged, had faced four indictments before his re-election—two federal cases, one in Georgia over election interference, and another in New York related to hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. In the New York case, he was found guilty of 34 felony counts but received an unconditional discharge with no punishment.
Dismissing the verdict as politically motivated, Trump used his Friday address to attack both the judicial system and the media. He accused journalists of attempting to “illegally sway” judges and suggested their coverage of his legal battles amounted to election interference.
“They take such abuse,” he said, referring to judges presiding over his cases. “They don’t want bad publicity... And it should be illegal, and it probably is illegal in some form.”
The president singled out Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon, who had been criticised for her handling of the classified documents case. Trump praised her as “the absolute model of what a judge should be” and defended her against what he described as unfair attacks by “fake lawyers” and “horrible human beings.”
Trump reiterated his long-standing claim that the Justice Department had been “weaponised” against him, accusing officials of conspiring to undermine his presidency. “We are turning the page on four long years of corruption, weaponisation, and surrender to violent criminals,” he said.
He further revealed that, since returning to office, the FBI had handed back classified documents seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022. The move has drawn sharp criticism from legal experts, given that Trump had previously been accused of mishandling sensitive government materials.
Concluding his remarks, Trump invoked English philosopher John Locke, whose words—“Wherever law ends, tyranny begins”—are engraved on the Justice Department’s limestone walls. “You can’t go after your political opponent,” he said, despite his repeated threats to do exactly that.
