The Justice Department’s independence has eroded under political pressure, with Trump’s second term accelerating the collapse of key norms.
Carol Leonnig and Aaron Davis reveal new details on ignored intelligence before January 6th and the DOJ’s internal breakdown.
The Supreme Court’s broad immunity ruling has reshaped accountability, further entrenching executive power over justice.
Lincoln Square Executive Editor Susan Demas welcomes Washington Post reporters and Pulitzer Prize winners Carol Leonnig and Aaron Davis — coauthors of the new book, Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America’s Justice Department — for a sobering look at how power has warped the nation’s most vital legal institution.
Leonnig and Davis trace how Trump’s attacks on prosecutors, agents, and even former allies destabilized the DOJ long before his second term’s open politicization. They describe a department hollowed out from within, where expertise was purged and fear replaced duty. What’s left is an institution stripped of muscle memory, where the principle of “without fear or favor” feels almost aspirational. Their reporting reminds us that the rule of law depends not on statutes alone but on people willing to defend them — and those ranks are thinning fast.
Tune in to the whole conversation with Susan, Carol, and Aaron, now!
Can We Trust Courts to Stop Trump’s Lawlessness?
Just following the mass of litigation against the second Trump Administration can be a full-time job.
