Democrats on Sunday framed President Trump's public demand that Attorney General Pam Bondi not "delay" in prosecutions of political enemies as a threat to American democracy.
The big picture: Trump's Saturday post addressed to the nation's top law enforcement official urged action against three of his foes in an escalation of his retribution campaign — and the already mounting MAGA world pressure on Bondi after the Epstein files fallout.
- Trump, who has declared himself the nation's "chief law enforcement officer," has stacked the DOJ and other agencies with loyalists who are now leading probes into Democrats and other Trump critics.
Driving the news: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) argued on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that Trump is turning the DOJ "into an instrument that goes after his enemies, whether they're guilty or not" and "that helps his friends."
- Schumer warned, "This is the path to a dictatorship."
Zoom out: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) framed the current moment "one of the most dangerous" the country has faced, saying on ABC's "This Week," "We are quickly turning into a banana republic."
- Alluding to late-night host Jimmy Kimmel's suspension following an FCC warning over comments he made after Charlie Kirk's killing, he said Trump was "employing the full power of the federal government, the FCC, the Department of Justice, in order to punish, lock up, take down, [take] off the air, all of his political enemies."
- Murphy said "there are two things happening: One, you are going to be prosecuted for political speech in this country, but you are also going to be excused," pointing to the clemency Trump granted to Jan. 6 rioters and reporting that the DOJ closed a probe into border czar Tom Homan.
Former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wrote on social media Sunday, "Imagine if Richard Nixon had just tweeted out the Watergate scandal rather than putting it on secret tapes. That's what this is."
- The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Context: Trump's post, which read like a private message to Bondi, named former FBI director James Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and New York Attorney General Letitia James — who all have faced administration probes — demanding that "JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!"
- He wrote that he had reviewed "over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, 'same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done.'"
Between the lines: The post was seemingly motivated by animus toward Erik Siebert, the U.S. attorney in Virginia, who didn't pursue a case against James and declined to prosecute Comey.
- The president said Saturday that he ousted Siebert after learning he received "UNUSUALLY STRONG" support from Virginia's "sleazebag" Democratic senators.
- "We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility," he wrote.
Yes, but: Deprived of levers of federal power, Democrats urged their Republican colleagues to push back against Trump.
- "We need our Republican colleagues more than ever to speak out against this violation of the fundamentals of democracy," Schumer told CNN's Dana Bash.
- When asked what resistance he could mount, Schumer pointed to "legal" and "legislative ways."
Friction point: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a fiscal hawk who broke from the administration on its signature tax and spending bill and other key issues, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that "lawfare in all forms is bad."
- He claimed charges brought against Trump were "lawfare" as well, but said, "it's also wrong if Republicans do it."
The other side: Asked about Trump's post, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) defended the president as being "open and transparent with the American people" on "State of the Union."
- Mullin added, "If they did something, I don't know ... this is a country that should look into it."
Go deeper: Unlikely enforcers shape Trump's "weaponization" crusade
