Trump Allies Ramaswamy And Jordan Downplay Threats Of Revenge

 President-elect Donald Trump’s allies suggested Sunday his repeated threats to go after his adversaries—from prosecutors who have brought cases against him to former allies turned critics—won’t come to fruition, as his advisers are reportedly mapping plans to use the Justice Department in a revenge campaign.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told CNN on Sunday, “I don’t think any of that will happen,” noting he didn’t go after Hillary Clinton during his first term, despite “talk about lock her up,” referencing a chant used by his supporters during his 2016 campaign.

Jordan suggested it would be hypocritical if Trump were to carry out his threats for revenge, an apparent reference to Republicans’ claims that prosecutors who have brought cases against Trump have done so for political purposes (there’s no evidence to support those allegations): “We are the party who is against political prosecution, we’re the party who is against going after your opponents using law fare,” Jordan said, adding that he is personally “against the retribution.”

Trump has repeatedly suggested, however, he would seek retribution, including by appointing a special prosecutor to “go after” President Joe Biden and “the entire Biden crime family,” calling for Vice President Kamala Harris to “be impeached and prosecuted” over illegal border crossings, and suggesting, “the enemy from within” and “radical left lunatics . . . should be very easily handled by” the National Guard or military.

Trump’s former primary opponent-turned-surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy also told ABC News on Sunday when asked about Trump’s promises for retribution, “what Donald Trump has said on this time and again success will be our retribution, success will be our vengeance.”

Trump’s advisers have reportedly been laying out a strategy to use his powers as president to investigate and potentially prosecute people who have crossed him, specifically former allies and people who worked in his first administration who have openly criticized him, the Washington Post reported last week. Trump has repeatedly threatened both state and federal prosecutors who have brought cases against him, including Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who Trump said should be “prosecuted” and “held accountable” for his handling of Trump’s hush money case. The DOJ plan also reportedly explores how Trump could use the Insurrection Act to deploy the military to stop potential protests surrounding his inauguration. His allies are also angling to upend the independence of the Justice Department—which is part of the executive branch but typically given autonomy—to exert more control over the agency, in part by stacking it with like-minded political allies, Reuters reported.

“Many federal employees are terrified that we’ll be replaced with partisan loyalists—not just because our jobs are on the line, but because we know that our democracy and country depend on a government supported by a merit-based, apolitical civil service,” Stacey Young, a trial attorney in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division told Politico. The outlet reported Sunday that Justice Department officials are “losing their minds” over Trump’s win on Tuesday and the potential that he could overhaul the agency he has repeatedly attacked for bringing criminal cases against him.