President Trump took his criticism of the criminal justice system to new heights Thursday, prompting alarm from national security and law enforcement officials who fear the president is seeking to protect himself from encroaching investigations at the expense of lasting damage to institutions, reports the Washington Post. In a “Fox & Friends” interview, Trump argued it “almost ought to be illegal” for “flippers” to get plea deals in exchange for testimony — a reference to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, who implicated Trump in a scheme to cover up alleged affairs before the 2016 election. The barrage of presidential comments on issues including Paul Manafort’s conviction and his stripping security clearances from those who anger him, critics said, demonstrate Trump’s shifting, inconsistent principles when it comes to law enforcement. Observers said they suggest a dangerous lack of understanding about the criminal justice system that is likely to have repercussions well beyond the White House.
“When people at the top show contempt for law and contempt for the legal process, that’s bound to trickle down,” said Pamela Karlan, a Stanford University law professor. Republicans have increasingly lost have confidence in the Justice Department. One lawmaker, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), modeled his response on Trump’s, describing DOJ as “the Democrats’ arm of law enforcement” after he and his wife were charged with spending $250,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses. Speaking about “flipping,” or prosecutors offering witnesses leniency for cooperation in criminal probes, experts called the technique a valuable tool for getting to the truth if they do it properly. Alberto Gonzales, attorney general under President George W. Bush, and Neal Katyal, solicitor general under President Obama, both said it was a necessary tool. “If President Trump’s views were the law, literally thousands of criminals would be on the street today,” Katyal told the Post.