ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� Donald Trump promised in his to fairly apply the law, unlike how he said he鈥檇 been treated by federal authorities.
鈥淭he vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end,鈥� he declared on Jan. 20, 2025.
Since then, Trump鈥檚 administration has gone after multiple elected and appointed government officials who have either directly opposed the Republican president or not granted his wishes.
The most recent include the offices of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and four other officials in the state whom federal prosecutors to during a wide-reaching immigration operation across the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
Also in the Trump administration鈥檚 crosshairs has been Federal Reserve Chair , who has defended the independence of the central bank against Trump鈥檚 more sharply.
But influential White House chief of staff has also affirmed that Trump sees his White House return as a sort of vengeance tour.
鈥淭here may be an element of that from time to time,鈥� she . 鈥淲ho would blame him? Not me.鈥�
Here鈥檚 a look at how Trump鈥檚 government has pursued his opponents, real and perceived.
Walz and Frey in Minnesota served subpoenas
The subpoenas sent to officials in Minnesota Tuesday seek records as part of an investigation into whether they obstructed or impeded law enforcement during the immigration operation, a person familiar with the matter said. In addition to Walz and Frey’s offices, they were also sent to the offices of Attorney General Keith Ellison, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties, the person said.
The person was not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The subpoena shared by Frey鈥檚 office requires a long list of documents, including 鈥渁ny records tending to show a refusal to come to the aid of immigration officials.鈥� He and Walz, both Democrats, have called the probe a bullying tactic meant to quell political opposition.
The subpoenas are connected with an investigation into whether state officials obstructed federal immigration enforcement through public statements,
Powell and the Federal Reserve are under investigation
Powell said in an unusual video statement earlier this month that the Justice Department has after his testimony to the Senate Banking Committee this summer. In that appearance, Powell pushed back at Trump鈥檚 criticism of the Fed鈥檚 $2.5 billion in Washington 鈥� criticism that Trump had elevated as he also expressed frustration that Powell and his fellow governors were not lowering interest rates sharply enough for Trump鈥檚 taste.
Powell, whom Trump appointed as chairman in 2017, asserted plainly that the Justice Department action is a 鈥減retext鈥� to weaken to set monetary policy without political influence from the president. The chairman had previously ignored Trump鈥檚 pressure and personal insults, other than to emphasize the central bank鈥檚 historical independent status.
The inquiry and Powell鈥檚 statement mark a significant escalation in Trump鈥檚 battle with the Federal Reserve and his ongoing straining of the .
Fed member Lisa Cook鈥檚 personal finances targeted
Trump another Federal Reserve board member, Lisa Cook, over allegations of mortgage fraud pushed by the president鈥檚 director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte. It was the first time in 112 years that a president had sought to remove a Fed governor.
Cook, a 2022 appointee of a Democratic president, Joe Biden, and the first Black woman to serve on the seven-member board, sued to keep her job. The Supreme Court ruled last fall that on the board as her case advances. The justices are expected to . The court already has heard a separate case on at independent agencies.
James Comey indicted 鈥� then the case gets tossed
Former FBI Director James Comey has survived, for now, a federal indictment that charged him with .
Comey, whom Trump fired during his first administration, was the first former senior government official to face prosecution after being involved in one of the president鈥檚 chief grievances, the .
The September indictment came days after Trump appeared to encourage Attorney General Pam Bondi to punish Comey. 鈥淛USTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!鈥� he said in a social media post that named Bondi and referenced his own impeachments and prosecutions.
A federal judge in Virginia against Comey in November, finding that prosecutor Lindsey Halligan, who brought the charges at Trump鈥檚 urging, was illegally appointed by the Justice Department. That, of course, means that Comey has not been cleared on the charges, which could be leveled against him again.
Letitia James, the New York attorney general, also spared
New York Attorney General Letitia James has long been a Trump target after she won a against him in 2024. The fine was later tossed out by a higher court, but both sides are appealing 鈥� and Trump鈥檚 Justice Department has gone after James since.
She was indicted on two weeks after Comey鈥檚 indictment last year. Her case was thrown out by the same Virginia-based judge and for the same reason that spared Comey: The prosecutor who brought the charges was found to be illegally appointed.
The Trump administration has continued to go after James but was by grand juries that have declined to issue indictments after hearing evidence from federal prosecutors.
Even more recently, another federal judge, this time in James鈥� home state, disqualified another prosecutor from overseeing investigations into James. The judge found that John Sarcone also was as an acting U.S. attorney in the Northern District of New York.
Former CIA Director John Brennan was told he鈥檚 being investigated
John Brennan鈥檚 lawyers the former CIA director is a target of a grand jury investigation in Florida.
That inquiry is related to the of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election 鈥� the inquiry that fed Trump鈥檚 ire at Comey.
Brennan鈥檚 lawyers said in a letter last month that they wanted the Justice Department to be prevented from steering an and other former government officials to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. She is the Florida jurist who was appointed by Trump and later against him.
Jack Smith, who led investigations of Trump, still getting probed
An ostensibly independent federal agency that investigates partisan political activity of federal employees opened an investigation last summer into Jack Smith, the former federal prosecutor who led multiple Trump investigations, including into the Jan. 6, 2021, by Trump supporters.
The Office of Special Counsel in Trump鈥檚 Justice Department confirmed in August that it was investigating Smith on allegations he engaged in political activity through his inquiries into Trump. Smith was named a in November 2022 by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland.
In congressional testimony in December, Smith , saying his team 鈥渄eveloped proof beyond a reasonable doubt鈥� that the president criminally conspired to overturn his 2020 election defeat to Biden.
鈥淚 made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump鈥檚 political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淲e took actions based on what the facts and the law required 鈥� the very lesson I learned early in my career as a prosecutor.鈥�
Adam Schiff鈥檚 mortgages draw scrutiny
California Sen. Adam Schiff has long been among the loudest Trump critics on Capitol Hill, starting when he was a House member during the first Trump presidency. Now he is another official whose mortgages and personal finances are under scrutiny. The investigation into Schiff was being conducted by prosecutors in Maryland as of late last year.
And now the investigation itself is . Federal authorities in November began inquiring about the roles of Ed Martin, a Justice Department official, and Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency director whose name has surfaced in several of the high-profile mortgage fraud cases leveled by Trump鈥檚 administration.
Schiff, who pushed impeachment in Trump鈥檚 first term, has consistently said the investigation against him is political retribution.
___ Associated Press reporters Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed from Washington.
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