This Week in Democracy – Week 65: Firing Judges, Prosecutors, and Election Officials
Zeteo's weekly round-up, documenting the growth of authoritarianism in Trump's second term.
As we know far too well, when Donald Trump doesn’t get his way, he lashes out – and this week was no exception.
Trump and his cronies criticized judges, went after a whistleblower, and ridiculously lectured the… pope. Trump’s Truth Social tirades may seem like toddler-like tantrums, but they have real-world consequences, including hurting what’s left of the US’s standing in the world and harming what’s left of American democracy.
From firing judges for doing their jobs to removing the lead prosecutor from a probe investigating one of Trump’s political enemies to backing the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, here’s just a taste of what Trump and his allies did this week that undermines the Constitution, hurts democracy, and harms the world:
Saturday, April 11 – Judges Who Blocked High-Profile Deportations Fired
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration abruptly fired the immigration judges who blocked the deportations of Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk and Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi.
Both judges, who were appointed by the Biden administration in 2024, were approaching the end of their two-year probationary term and had granted asylum at higher rates than other judges.
Sunday, April 12 – Trump Takes on…the Pope
Trump lashed out at his latest political target, the pope, who has been critical of the war in Iran. Trump called him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” adding that he should “get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”
In response, Pope Leo XIV said he won’t shy away from “looking for ways to avoid war any time that’s possible,” and later added he’s “not afraid of the Trump administration.”
Trump also shared an AI-generated photo depicting himself as Jesus, which drew significant backlash from his Christian supporters. He later deleted the post and ridiculously claimed he believed it depicted himself as a doctor, not Jesus.
Monday, April 13 – Election Deniers in Critical Government Positions
ProPublica reported that Trump has installed roughly two dozen people to key government positions that could affect elections, including 10 who actively worked to change the 2020 presidential election results. Some of the officials have been hired from activist organizations at the center of the election denial movement.
Meanwhile, at least 75 people across several agencies who helped work to prevent the results of the 2020 election from being overturned have either resigned, been fired, or reassigned by the Trump administration.
Tuesday, April 14 – DOJ Wants to Toss Oath Keepers Jan. 6 Convictions
Trump’s Justice Department asked a federal appeals court to dismiss the convictions of members of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, who had been charged with seditious conspiracy for their roles in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The members previously had their sentences commuted by Trump on his first day in office, but were not pardoned by the president alongside more than 1,200 others who were convicted or had pleaded guilty for crimes related to the insurrection.
Wednesday, April 15 – Trump Admin Continues Retribution Campaign
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard issued criminal referrals to the Justice Department for a whistleblower who filed a complaint that helped lead to Trump’s first impeachment and former Inspector General Michael Atkinson, who handled the whistleblower complaint.
It’s unclear at this time what specific crimes Gabbard alleged in the referrals.
Thursday, April 16 – Trump Attacks Another Federal Judge
On Truth Social, Trump attacked a federal judge who again blocked his administration from moving forward with above-ground construction for the White House ballroom. Trump ridiculously called the judge “Trump Hating” and “highly political,” and baselessly accused him of using “illegal overreach.”
But the judge did authorize construction to continue on below-ground construction, citing the need to protect the White House’s “national security facilities.” Trump now claims the below-ground portion will include “Bomb Shelters” and a “State of the Art Hospital and Medical Facilities.”
Friday, April 17 – DOJ Removes Prosecutor From Brennan Probe
CNN reported that Trump’s Justice Department removed the lead prosecutor investigating former CIA Director John Brennan after she resisted pressure to quickly bring charges against him. The case relates to the 2017 intelligence assessment that found Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election to boost Trump.
The news of the prosecutor’s removal comes after Reuters reported that the FBI is ramping up its investigation into Brennan, with plans to question multiple witnesses, including former intelligence officials involved in the assessment.
Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up here. And check out more of Zeteo’s reporting from this week below:
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Good Weekend.