This Week in Democracy – Week 79: GOP Targets Former Special Counsel Jack Smith as Trump DOJ Awakens 'Zombie' Immigration Court
Zeteo’s weekly round-up, documenting the growth of authoritarianism in Trump’s second term.
An illegal war more and more Americans don’t want. Tariffs the country has repeatedly said it doesn’t support. And “beautification” projects in Washington, DC, the majority of Americans are unhappy with. That’s just the start.
Americans are telling Donald Trump and his cronies they don’t like their policies – yet the president and his allies are still escalating – and providing more money for – the war in Iran, announcing unpopular economic policies, and continuing to obsess over expensive projects that aren’t actually making the U.S. capital look more beautiful.
But that’s life in Donald Trump’s America – where fascism and idiocy are valued over democracy. From the Trump administration turning to a decades-old immigration court that’s never been used, to federal judges in Tennessee greenlighting a new voting map that will disenfranchise Black voters, here’s what Trump and his cronies did this week that harm democracy, undermined the Constitution, and hurt free societies worldwide:
Saturday, July 18 – DOJ Files First-Ever ‘Alien Terrorist Removal Court’ Application
CourtWatch reported that Trump’s Justice Department submitted an application to the Alien Terrorist Removal Court – which legal scholars had dubbed a “zombie” court having been established in 1996 but never used – in an effort to quickly deport noncitizens the government considers “alien terrorists.”
The law that created the court allows the secretary of state to label someone an “alien terrorist” who intends to engage in activities that “could endanger the welfare, safety, or security of the United States.”
Little is known about the application submitted by the Trump administration. The court’s procedures allow for the use of secret evidence that the targets of deportation never see, a practice that has raised concerns among legal scholars about potential constitutional violations.
Sunday, July 19 – FBI No Longer Investigating ICE Confrontations
The New York Times reported that federal agents were informed that the FBI is no longer investigating ICE confrontations, a move that comes after multiple killings by federal officers in recent weeks and one that would make it much more difficult to collect evidence that could be used to prosecute agents.
The DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security denied the change is taking place, saying the FBI “will continue to investigate in accordance with agency policy.”
Monday, July 20 – Trump Admin Tried to Get Phone Records of NYT Reporters, Relatives
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration sought phone records of some of its reporters dating back to Jan. 1, along with the records of their relatives, as part of its recent subpoenas surrounding an investigation into the Times’s reporting on security concerns about Trump’s new Air Force One, which was donated by Qatar.
In a court motion, the Times said the move is just one of many that amount to a “bad-faith effort to intimidate the journalists and chill their ability to report on the administration.” (Later, the DOJ withdrew its subpoenas against the journalists.)
Tuesday, July 21 – Election Deniers Win GOP Primaries in DOJ-Monitored Arizona Elections
Two election deniers involved in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election won key primary races in Arizona, putting them one step closer to securing pivotal positions of power in November.
Alexander Kolodin, who was involved in lawsuits challenging election results in 2020 and in 2022 before being sanctioned by the state bar, became the Republican nominee for the state’s top election official. Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Biggs, who supported Trump’s push to block the certification of Joe Biden’s presidency, won the Republican nomination for Arizona governor.
During the state’s primary election, three counties were monitored by the Justice Department, as part of Trump’s plan to send federal election monitors to six states during their primaries.
Wednesday, July 22 – Another Trump Investigator Targeted by GOP
House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan sent a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche urging Trump’s Justice Department to prosecute former special counsel Jack Smith, in the latest attack on officials who have charged the president with crimes.
Jordan alleged that Smith made false statements during his closed-door testimony last year, but the former special counsel’s lawyers say the referral “reflects a chilling eagerness to weaponize the justice system by attacking a career, nonpartisan public servant who faithfully and fearlessly performed his duties by following the facts and the law.”
Thursday, July 23 – Majority-Black District Split Up in Tennessee
Federal judges approved the use of a new congressional map in Tennessee that splits up a majority-Black district in Memphis, eliminating the state’s only Democrat-held seat.
The decision, which puts Republicans on the path to secure an additional seat in the midterms, comes after Republicans revised Tennessee’s congressional districts in May in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act.
Friday, July 24 – Trump Has Demanded Over $70 Billion in Lawsuits and Claims Since Late 2022
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) published a new analysis finding that Trump has sought more than $70 billion in lawsuits and claims since launching his most recent presidential campaign in November 2022.
Among the litigations CREW tracked are Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, in which he initially sought $10 billion, as well as his $10 billion ongoing suit against the BBC.
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:
The Zombie Court - Another unfortunate legacy of Bill Clinton.
Why hasn't that banner been spray painted by someone(s)?!