NOT SO OPPOSITION PARTY — President Donald Trump’s claims about a politically weaponized justice system have been embraced and amplified recently by some unexpected sources: some of the best-known names in the Democratic Party. It’s a stunning, though perhaps not totally surprising turn — and it might help boost the president’s attempts to remake the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Former Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), New York City Mayor Eric Adams, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and even former President Joe Biden are among those who have suggested — and in some cases, flat-out asserted — that they or their families have been victims of politically motivated federal prosecutors, bolstering Trump’s claim that the American justice system is so broken and corrupt that it must be blown up. Politicians ensnared by the feds have long claimed to be victims of selective prosecution — almost no one cops to their crimes and willingly does a stint at Allenwood or another correctional facility. Trump, however, is the first modern pol to successfully rally an entire national movement around the idea that he is a victim, relentlessly pursued by rotten prosecutors unleashed by his partisan political enemies. It’s his justification for overhauling the DOJ and the FBI, purging the top ranks of federal law enforcement and appointing loyalists for attorney general and FBI director. While Democrats insist Trump’s moves have threatened public safety, national security and the rule of law , their arguments have struggled to slow Trump’s progress in remaking federal law enforcement. It’s no wonder, since so many high-profile Democrats have been validating Trump’s underlying premise. Biden’s explanation for pardoning his son — after insisting that he would not — was essentially the same one that Trump has been making, only without the partisan vitriol and self-pity: Hunter was “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.” “[R]aw politics has infected this process,” the former president said in a statement at the time, “and it led to a miscarriage of justice.” In his final report on the Hunter Biden investigation, DOJ special counsel David Weiss made clear his views on the corrosive effect of Biden's criticism, calling the former president’s statement “gratuitous and wrong.” “Other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations,” Weiss wrote . “These prosecutions were the culmination of thorough, impartial investigations, not partisan politics. Eight judges across numerous courts have rejected claims that they were the result of selective or vindictive motives. Calling those rulings into question and injecting partisanship into the independent administration of the law undermines the very foundation of what makes America's justice system fair and equitable. It erodes public confidence in an institution that is essential to preserving the rule of law.” Two weeks ago, Menendez, the former New Jersey Democratic powerhouse, took a different tack than Biden. The senator who once wondered aloud whether Trump could be compromised by the Russian government explicitly asserted, “President Trump was right.” MENENDEZ WAS CAUGHT WITH BARS OF GOLD & A FREE VEHICLE, AMONG OTHER THINGS! THIS WAS ACTUALLY HIS 2ND CORRUPTION TRIAL. “This process is political, and it’s corrupted to the core,” Menendez said outside the New York federal courthouse after being sentenced to 11 years. “I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system.” BLAGOJEVICH WAS CONVICTED OF BRIBERY AMONG OTHER THINGS PRIOR TO PRESIDENT BIDEN'S ELECTION, WAS IMPEACHED BY ILLINOIS SENATORS. PREVIOUSLY A CONTESTANT ON TRUMPS TV SHOW "THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE", HAD A CONTENTIOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH EVERYONE Then there is Rod Blagojevich, the former Democratic governor of one of the biggest and bluest states in the country. After a jury found him guilty on corruption charges, Blagojevich served time in prison until Trump commuted his sentence in 2020. Blagojevich subsequently became a vigorous Trump supporter, claiming that the weaponization of the DOJ actually began with the prosecution against him . The former Democratic governor vouched for Trump’s central argument: "Biden was happy to weaponize the Department Justice against Trump.” Blagojevich’s support hasn’t been lost on Trump, who gave him a full pardon yesterday amid speculation that he might also be appointed as the U.S. ambassador to Serbia. Trump’s war against the DOJ, it turns out, has opened his eyes to the political value of Democratic politicians with grievances against federal prosecutors. Last year, Trump came to the support of Cuellar, the indicted South Texas Democratic congressman who has suggested he’s been targeted by the DOJ for political reasons — in his instance, because he is a conservative Democrat. Trump rallied to his cause. “Biden just Indicted Henry Cuellar because the Respected Democrat Congressman wouldn’t play Crooked Joe’s Open Border game. He was for Border Control, so they said, “Let’s use the FBI and DOJ to take him out!” This is the way they operate,” Trump wrote on Truth Social . Cuellar surely noticed yesterday’s bombshell out of New York, where the Trump Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors to drop their case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, clearing him of all corruption charges in advance of his reelection bid this year. Adams has been transparent in his attempts to seek help from the Trump administration — he went to Mar-a-Lago to visit Trump, secured a last-minute invitation to his inauguration and has refused to publicly criticize the president. And the Justice Department’s memo asking the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to seek a dismissal of the charges included language suggesting Adams’ legal trouble could hurt his ability to enact Trump’s immigration agenda . For Trump, it was all political upside. It boosted the fortunes of a rare Democratic ally in the biggest city in America — one who could prove useful in the administration’s immigration crackdown — while also reinforcing central MAGA tenets. Trump spelled out his political calculus back in October before a gathering of New York’s political, business and religious leaders. “I know what it’s like to be persecuted by the DOJ for speaking out against open borders,” Trump said. “We were persecuted, Eric. I was persecuted, and so are you, Eric.” Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at cmahtesian@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @PoliticoCharlie .
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