Trump publicly urges US Justice Department to charge his enemies

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump publicly urged his Justice Department on Saturday (Sep 20) to take action against his enemies, the latest in a series of moves that critics say have shattered the agency's traditional independence.

In a social media post addressing "Pam" – apparently Attorney General Pam Bondi – Trump fumed over the lack of legal action against California Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats.

Schiff and James are among a handful of people who have been accused by a close Trump ally, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, of falsifying documents on mortgage applications.

"We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility," Trump said.

On Friday, Trump fired the federal prosecutor who was overseeing the probe into James, after the attorney reportedly insisted there was insufficient evidence to charge her with mortgage fraud.

Erik Siebert, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, told staff of his resignation via an email on Friday, the New York Times and other US media outlets reported.

"I fired him, and there is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so," Trump said Saturday, apparently referencing the probe into James.

Schiff and James have separately clashed with Trump in prior years, leading investigations that the Republican president alleges were political witch hunts.

Late on Saturday, Trump said he had appointed White House aide Lindsey Halligan, who has been leading a review of the Smithsonian Institution's content for "divisive or partisan narratives", to fill Siebert's position.

The US president described Halligan as a "tough, smart, and loyal attorney".

LEGAL BATTLES

During Trump's first term in the White House, Schiff, then a member of the US House, led the prosecution at the president's first impeachment trial, which was based on allegations he pressured Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election.

Trump was eventually acquitted by the Senate then, and again in 2021 when he was impeached a second time, this time for "incitement of insurrection" connected to the Jan 6, 2021 invasion of Congress by his supporters.

After Trump left the White House, James brought a major civil fraud case against him, alleging he and his company had unlawfully inflated his wealth and manipulated the value of properties to obtain favourable bank loans or insurance terms.

A state judge ordered Trump to pay US$464 million in that suit, but a higher court later removed the financial penalty while upholding the underlying judgment.

"They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!" Trump wrote on Saturday.

Trump has also been convicted of 34 felonies related to hush money payments to a porn star.

Earlier this month, a US appeals court upheld a jury's US$83.3 million penalty against Trump for defaming author E Jean Carroll, whom he was found to have sexually assaulted.

Investigations into Trump over alleged mishandling of classified material and attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election were abandoned when he was re-elected last year.