Ethics watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has filed a criminal complaint against former President Donald Trump and his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, demanding that the Justice Department investigate their attempt to “weaponize the Justice Department” in order to overturn Biden’s win.
The filing comes after a bombshell report from the New York Times revealed that then-president Trump pressured DOJ officials to declare the election “corrupt and illegal” and “let the rest to me.”
The report prompted legal experts to call for the arrest and prosecution of the former president for trying to use the Justice Department to overturn the election so he can stay in power.
In its filing, CREW argues that “Trump and Meadows also appear to have violated criminal provisions of the Hatch Act by illegally pressuring and attempting to coerce high-ranking DOJ officials to advance a partisan political agenda to affect the outcome of the election.”
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“These alarming and illegal acts were part of a broader conspiracy to deprive American citizens of their right to vote and to have their votes counted. Ultimately, this pattern of misconduct aimed at undermining the democratic process culminated in the seditious attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.” said CREW President Noah Bookbinder.
“Government officials who try to subvert our republic and undermine democratic rule must be held accountable to the full extent of the criminal law,” he added.
“The Department of Justice should investigate whether former President Trump and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows violated federal criminal law by attempting to weaponize the Department of Justice as part of their larger campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election
