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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday vowed to “expel rogue actors” and demand “complete accountability” for past actions at the Department of Justice.
The wide-ranging speech that fell just shy of an hour and was delivered in an unusual spot for a sitting commander in chief also featured a victory lap on his work to address crime, immigration and fentanyl, a new threat against the media and several detours to discuss a former basketball coach, foreign policy and the price of eggs.
Trump, whose election victory in November led to the dismissal of two federal prosecutions against him, spent much of his remarks reiterating the concerns he expressed frequently on the campaign trail in 2024 about how the Justice Department was run, and specifically its treatment of him during former President Joe Biden’s term. This time, Trump took the complaints inside the halls of the department — a rare move with little precedent — where he also pledged to “restore the scales of justice.”
“Our predecessors turned this Department of Justice into the department of injustice,” Trump said. “But I stand before you today to declare that those days are over and they are never going to come back.”
The president said he would pursue accountability for what he called the “wrongs and abuses” carried out by the department and get rid of those he said are responsible for such actions. The effort, he said, would be carried out by his attorney general, Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel — both of whom he began his remarks by praising. At the same time, he referred to himself as the “chief law enforcement officer in our country.”
“So now, as the chief law enforcement officer in our country, I will insist upon and demand full and complete accountability for the wrongs and abuses that have occurred,” he said.
Trump went on to tout some of the actions he has already taken with this campaign in mind, including firing DOJ officials involved in the federal cases against him, pardoning those convicted for their actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and revoking the security clearances for a list of current or former officials, including Biden.
He also used the speech — framed by the White House as a chance to lay out his “law and order” agenda — to pledge to take on crime in the nation’s capital city, highlight a drop in arrests for illegal border crossings and unveil a new threat against media outlets whose coverage he doesn’t like, just weeks after his administration introduced major changes to how the press pool that covers the president operates.
“These networks and these newspapers are really no different than a highly paid political operative, and it has to stop,” he said, naming CNN and MSNBC in particular. “It has to be illegal.”
The appearance in the Justice Department’s ceremonial Great Hall comes amid an ongoing conversation about the independence of the department, in charge of enforcing federal laws.
Biden made it a point to vow to restore the independence of the department after he argued it was not treated that way during Trump’s first term. The pledge made his statement on the pardon of his son, Hunter, right before he left office, in which he sharply criticized the department, surprising to many.
Trump also emphasized the importance of personnel in his quest to change the department, which comes amid concerns from Democrats, including Biden, that he may seek to have the DOJ pursue those he views as personal enemies.
