Since the start of his second term, President Trump is smashed in the Department of Justice

into a tool he can wield against his enemies. Here's an exchange between a reporter

and the DOJ's acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, in April.

President Trump has made no secret to the fact that he wants to see his perceived political

enemies prosecuted. So now that you're in this position, how are you going to balance that

relentless pressure with this administration's promise to end the weaponization of this department?

First of all, we have thousands of ongoing investigations and

prosecutions going on in this country right now. And it is true that some of them involve men,

women, and entities that the president in the past has had issues with and that believe should be

investigated. That is his right. And indeed indeed it is his duty to do that.

So far, Trump has installed his personal lawyer as the top official. He's called the ranks of

career prosecutors at the DOJ, and he's pressured U.S. attorneys into bringing cases against people

he considers political enemies. In recent months, grand juries have

acted as the last line of defense against the full weaponization of the justice system, refusing to

indict in cases where the government hasn't shown probable cause that a crime has been committed.

And as federal judges re-examine cases, some are uncovering instances of misconduct from the government's

lawyers.

The grand jury system was designed as a central piece of our democratic justice system as a check

on the government's power to prosecute. I'm Jen White. You're listening to the 1A podcast. For the latest

installment of our weekly politics series, if you can keep it, we ask, what do recent high-profile grand jury

proceedings tell us about accountability at the Justice Department? We'll answer that question and more

right after this short break. Stay with us. Welcome back to the 1A podcast. Let's get into the conversation and meet our guests. Joining us from Pennsylvania is John E. Jones III. He's the president of Dickinson College. He's also a former chief judge of the U.S. Middle District Court of Pennsylvania. John, welcome to 1A.

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