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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Trump’s legal retribution tour is getting more blatant
Analysis by Aaron Blake, CNN
Updated:
1:15 PM EDT, Sat August 9, 2025
Source: CNN
In case there was any doubt that President Donald Trump and his
administration are on a legal retribution tour, this should just about
settle it.
Trump has often been under investigation during his political career
— a fact owing to his near-constant efforts to push boundaries. But
perhaps the four biggest examples? The Russia investigation; his
Ukraine impeachment; January 6, 2021; and his personal legal troubles
after leaving office (including those stemming from January 6).
Less than seven months into Trump’s second term, key people from
every one of these efforts have now apparently faced investigations of
their own.
More than 10 people who played key roles in these investigations or ran
afoul of Trump have faced some kind of significant legal scrutiny.
These are steps that go beyond Trump merely accusing them of misdeeds
or suggesting they should be probed.
Trump and top administration officials have also targeted foes with
firings and stripped them of security clearances, but the effort to
apply legal scrutiny to some of the most prominent adversaries appears
to be ratcheting up.
Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this week into allegations that key
Obama administration officials manipulated intelligence in the Russia
probe. On Friday came news that , who won a civil fraud case against
Trump, faces her own grand jury probe. Reports indicate a similar
effort has also targeted Sen. Adam Schiff of California, who figured
prominently in two Trump investigations from the president’s first
term.
Often, the allegations being investigated do not relate to the
figures’ actions in probing Trump. Many of allegations remain
unsubstantiated in the public record, like those about the Russia
intelligence.
None of which means none of the people did anything wrong. There is
plenty we don’t know.
But it would seem telling that key figures from each of these efforts
have found themselves under scrutiny. What are the odds that happens
— and so quickly — if this isn’t about retaliation and sending a
message?
And even if the investigations don’t amount to anything, there is
value for Trump in creating legal headaches for these people. It
certainly sends a message to anyone who might to investigate him in the
future.
Here’s a look at what we know, broken down by who investigated Trump
for what.
The Russia investigation
Barack Obama, et al.: Bondi, earlier this week, ordered prosecutors to
into allegations that top Obama administration officials manufactured
intelligence about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. The
move followed the release of new documents from Director of National
Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that she and others and that don’t appear
to shed much light beyond previous probes — including ones
spearheaded by Republicans. Gabbard and Trump have gone so far as to
suggest Obama himself .
Former FBI Director James Comey: We learned last month that the FBI was
investigating Comey for . Trump controversially fired Comey in 2017
amid the FBI director’s investigation into Russia’s interference in
the 2016 election and its possible ties to Trump’s campaign. The news
of the investigation came after top Trump administration officials
earlier this year of calling for the president’s assassination.
Former CIA Director John Brennan: That FBI investigation also included
Brennan, who played a key role in early assessments of Russia’s
interference and whom Trump has regularly attacked.
January 6, 2021
Sen. Adam Schiff of California: The Justice Department is also probing
Schiff, according to reports, for allegations of mortgage fraud. Those
reports haven’t been confirmed by CNN, but Schiff’s lawyer Preet
Bharara late Friday issued a statement calling the allegations
“transparently false, stale, and long debunked.” Schiff managed
Democrats in Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 when he was serving in
the House and later chaired the House January 6 committee’s
investigation of Trump. The news comes weeks after Trump called Schiff
“a THIEF” and said, “He should be prosecuted.” Trump also said
in December that Schiff and other January 6 committee members . The
allegations stem from a confidential Fannie Mae memo raising questions
about the possibility of “occupancy misrepresentation” by Schiff, .
Liz Cheney: Shortly after the 2024 election, Trump urged the FBI to
investigate Schiff’s co-chair of the January 6 committee, former Rep.
Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican. In addition to saying January 6
committee members should be in jail, Trump promoted social media posts
calling for Cheney to face a televised military tribunal. While there
is no evidence of such an FBI investigation, House Republicans ,
focused on the idea that Cheney manipulated evidence in that
investigation. That investigation has , CNN reported in March.
The Ukraine impeachment
This category could also include Schiff, given he managed Trump’s
first impeachment, which related to the president’s efforts to
leverage Ukraine for political help in the 2020 election.
The Vindmans: Then-interim US Attorney Ed Martin earlier this year sent
letters to Democratic Rep. Eugene Vindman of Virginia seeking
information about a business Vindman and his brother, Alexander
Vindman, founded to help arm Ukraine to fight Russia, according to .
CNN has not reported on these letters. Before Eugene Vindman was
elected to Congress, the Vindman brothers blew the whistle on Trump
tying Ukraine aid to the country announcing an investigation into the
Bidens, when Joe Biden was Trump’s campaign opponent. Trump has
regularly attacked Alexander Vindman, whom former top administration
official Elon Musk once called a “traitor.”
Trump’s personal legal cases
New York Attorney General Letitia James: James has faced investigations
in multiple jurisdictions, including ones related to alleged mortgage
fraud and her actions in investigating Trump. James successfully
brought civil fraud charges against Trump in 2023, winning , and
brought multiple lawsuits against the first Trump administration. Trump
has attacked James for years. Shortly before an investigation of James
, Trump called James “a total crook.”
Special counsel Jack Smith: The Office of Special Counsel, which is
temporarily headed by a Trump appointee after the president fired its
previous head, is investigating Smith for . (The Office of Special
Counsel is separate from the kind of special counsel Smith served as.)
That act limits political activities by government employees. Smith led
the investigations and attempted federal prosecutions of Trump over
January 6 and Trump’s decision to take classified documents after
leaving the White House in 2021. Those cases resulted in indictments
but did not go to trial after Trump was elected president. Trump has
frequently attacked Smith in public, often calling him “deranged.”
It’s not clear precisely what the probe is focused on, but Republican
Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas Smith’s prosecutorial actions against
Trump were geared toward influencing the 2024 election.
Other critics from his first term
Miles Taylor: Trump in April signed an executive action that, among
other things, the former Department of Homeland Security official.
Taylor in 2018 wrote an anonymous describing a “resistance” within
the administration to Trump, and later wrote a book critical of Trump.
Christopher Krebs: The same executive action also ordered a probe of
the former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director,
who after the 2020 election undercut Trump’s false claims of
widespread voter fraud.
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