DOJ: Overall, The Transition Seems Headed In The Right Direction

Attorney General is a supremely important position in any administration, as he heads the legal arm of the government. Without a strong legal team many programs and initiatives would simply get bogged down. The Trump transition has put Mark Paoletta in charge of DoJ for the transition period, and that will presumably include input into choosing and vetting candidates for the AG position. He has thrown down the gauntlet to DoJ employees in a lengthy tweet. Before reproducing that tweet, however, you need to know who Mark Paoletta is:

Mark Paoletta is an American attorney who served in roles in the first Donald Trump administration. From January 8, 2018, to January 20, 2021, Paoletta served as general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Paoletta is a close friend and associate of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife … He helped participate in Justice Thomas's successful confirmation to the Supreme Court in 1991. Following the January 6 United States Capitol attack, Paoletta represented Ginni Thomas' interactions with the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. Throughout his legal career, Paoletta has specialized in representing clients in congressional investigations.

On January 5, 2017, Paoletta along with then Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon, and Don McGahn helped Donald Trump vet Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court.

None of that explicitly tells you what Paoletta’s policy views are—he has, after all, mostly filled positions in which it’s his duty to provide legal support for the president’s policies, not come up with policies on his own. On the other hand, based on his overall profile and associations, the WaPo can probably be forgiven for characterizing Paoletta as “a hard charging conservative.” Here’s his tweet:

Mark Paoletta @MarkPaoletta

President Trump was elected by the American people to carry out his agenda, which includes:

Securing the southern border, mass deportations of illegal aliens (beginning with rapists and murderers), surging resources to process immigration/asylum claims to clear out backlog and end widespread abuse of the asylum system, ending automatic citizenship for children of illegal aliens, and taking federal actions to prevent sanctuary cities from obstructing federal immigration enforcement,

Restoring law and order across our country, including rescuing our cities from mob violence and left-wing soft on crime prosecutors,

Immediately stopping the lawfare and persecution of political opponents that is unprecedented in American history and destroying our democracy,

Granting pardons or commutations to January 6th defendants and other defendants who have been subjected to politically-driven lawfare prosecutions and sentences,

Abolishing DEI in government and taking action against those companies and universities that engage in racial discrimination,

Protecting Americans’ right to speech, religion, and the Second Amendment,

Protecting religious liberties, including investigating and prosecuting the horrific antisemitism ripping through this country,

Protecting parents’ rights from irreparable transgender surgeries and procedures on minor children, and investigating those who have pushed this on minor children;

Paving the way for an energy boom and American Energy Golden Age,

And holding accountable those who weaponized their government authority to abuse Americans.

That seems pretty comprehensive—and I like it. A lot.

These are all positions President Trump campaigned on and that career DOJ lawyers may be working on to accomplish President Trump’s lawful agenda that was approved by a landslide vote of the American People. DOJ career employees do not set the agenda. In fact, they are required to help implement this agenda.

Hopefully, they will be as committed to helping President Trump implement his agenda as they did for President Biden. Of course, political leadership welcomes feedback to help improve a project. But once the decision is made to move forward, career employees are required to implement the President’s plan.

Of course, no one will push them to implement flagrantly illegal actions like President Biden did with his student loan plan, where he thumbed his nose at the Supreme Court’s ruling and then tried to implement another illegal plan which was struck down. (In fact, the media was cheering on his law-breaking). I don’t recall reading any stories about career attorneys being concerned about working on this blatantly illegal action.

If these career DOJ employees won’t implement President Trump’s program in good faith, they should leave. Those employees who engage in so-called “resistance” against the duly-elected President’s lawful agenda would be subverting American democracy.

Finally, those that take such actions would be subject to disciplinary measures, including termination.

I look forward to President Trump’s team Making America Great Again, especially at the Department of Justice and the FBI.

Quote

POLITICO @politico

Donald Trump blames the Justice Department for much of his torment over the past four years.

Lawyers there are terrified of what comes next.

https://politico.com/news/2024/11/10/trump-return-justice-department-00188623…

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8:14 AM · Nov 11, 2024