Trump II: Retribution Redux?

And, he’s back.  Donald Trump won the 2024 Presidential Election.  He won the Electoral College, and, for the first time in his three presidential runs, he won the popular vote as well.  Most voting Americans got what they wanted, more President Trump.

It’s not a joyful situation for everyone, and that includes those who have been critical of President Trump, or whom he perceives as having been critical.  Those groups and individuals are scrambling because President Trump and his allies have promised punishing investigations into his critics and perceived critics.

And, beginning in January, President Trump will have the ability to deliver on those promises:  His Republican party will control both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House—not to mention President Trump directly controlling the executive branch agencies, including the Department of Justice.  That department may be led by President Trump’s intended Attorney General nominee, Matt Gaetz.

Will President Trump and his surrogates really seek retribution against those who have questioned him and his conduct?  One way of gauging the answer is to consider how President Trump and his allies used their power after the 2016 election.  In that election, the Republican party—as in this 2024 election—uprooted a Democratic administration to gain the presidency and, in doing that, also won majorities in the Senate and the House.

The then-Republican House, among other things, launched a series of “investigations into the investigators.”  Cue talk of the “deep state.”  These House investigations included work by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI).  Those committees scrutinized, for example, the DOJ/FBI investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the 2016 Trump presidential campaign.

The then-Republican U.S. Senate was more restrained, but also involved.  For example, the Senate Judiciary Committee also pressed the FBI regarding its collusion investigation.

So, there’s reason to believe that President Trump and his allies in fact will target perceived critics, including not only government workers assigned to investigations of him but also private citizens that he mistrusts.

The effect could be overwhelming.  Consider the investigations during President Trump’s first term:  They left countless government officials to hire counsel and forced many to sit for congressional interviews; sit for Inspector General’s office interviews; engage with the FBI’s Inspections Division and DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility; produce documents in all of those contexts; get sued in civil cases; and be doxed in the media.

In other words, critics of President Trump, or folks whom he and his allies perceive as such, are right to be concerned.  Indeed, this time around, it may be worse.  Congressional leaders may be more apt to bend to President Trump’s wishes.  Same with executive branch officials.  And President Trump, freed from the potential moderating influence of running in a future election, and particularly upset by the many investigations of his own conduct since he last left office, may himself be more aggressive in using the levers of power against his critics and perceived critics.

Buckle up.  This could be a bumpy four years.

Kaiser PLLC regularly represents government officials and private citizens and organizations involved in politically-charged investigations.  That included investigations during President Trump’s first term, and it regularly includes helping clients through congressional investigations, criminal inquiries, inspector general investigations, agency disciplinary proceedings, and media inquiries.