354: How Trump Is Weaponizing The Law with Abbe Lowell
Politics War Room with James Carville & Al Hunt
Politicon
4.6 • 3.8K Ratings
🗓️ 10 February 2026
⏱️ 23 minutes
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Summary
James Carville & Al Hunt are joined by super-lawyer Abbe Lowell, they discuss the current political climate, the differences in the Justice Department under the current administration, and the implications of prosecutorial overreach. He highlights the importance of due process, the role of subpoenas, and the unique challenges faced by lawyers today. They also delves into specific cases, such as that of John Bolton, to illustrate the political motivations behind certain prosecutions. The conversation emphasizes the need for legal representation and the historical context of prosecutorial power in the United States.
Chapters
00:00 False Equivalency in Political Discourse
02:19 The Unprecedented Nature of the Current Justice Department
05:35 Subpoenas and Due Process: A Legal Perspective
08:21 Prosecutorial Overreach: Historical Context and Examples
11:10 The Case of John Bolton: Political Motivations in Prosecution
14:33 The Role of Lawyers in Protecting Rights
21:36 The Future of Legal Advocacy and Accountability
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | James, if you're in trouble, if you're in any kind of trouble, the first number you want to call, you want to look on the ELS, Lowe, Abby Loll, who is representing today, among others, Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve, the Attorney General James of New York State, John Bolton, the former national security advisor, and others. |
| 0:21.3 | He was deeply involved in the efforts to get the illicitly appointed U.S. attorney in New Jersey and Virginia. |
| 0:28.4 | And Abby, you have done this for a long time. |
| 0:30.5 | You have worked as a defense lawyer chiefly against the Justice Department and many administrations, |
| 0:37.1 | Republican and Democrat. How different, or is this Justice Department and many administrations, Republican and Democrat, |
| 0:39.1 | how different, or is this Justice Department different than the others? |
| 0:43.5 | Well, the Justice Department is very different, but let's start with the broader question |
| 0:46.4 | that you really are asking. |
| 0:48.5 | My practice and those like me, I have challenged excess of administrative agencies and administrations all the way back, believe it or not, to the Reagan administration. |
| 1:00.2 | One of my first cases was suing the Federal Aviation Administration for trying to change the flight pass at National Airport. |
| 1:06.3 | So going after government agencies is not new for me and the folks I work with. |
| 1:10.7 | The difference is, |
| 1:11.9 | is that the excesses of a government used to happen once a year, twice a year, and now it happens |
| 1:18.6 | once a week. And so it's not like this is a new practice. It's more like this practice needs to be |
| 1:24.2 | applied literally every other day. As to the Justice Department, you've |
| 1:28.3 | never seen a Justice Department like this. This Justice Department makes the Justice Department |
| 1:33.0 | that worked under Richard Nixon look like it was the Justice Department that worked under |
| 1:37.7 | Ed Levy or any of the other real attorneys general. I mean, to actually use the word |
| 1:43.0 | justice in this administration for that agency |
| 1:46.7 | is a misnomer. Think of it this way. One of the most important parts of this Justice Department was that |
| 1:52.3 | they created, this is not a joke. George Orwell would love this. They created a office called the |
| 1:58.2 | Office of Weaponization. If that's all you needed to know, then you know what's wrong. |
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