Many conservative analysts have recoiled in disgust at the way the Department of Justice has become increasingly politicized and weaponized, acting as a tool of leftist Democrats in recent years. There has been no clearer example of this than the way they have attempted to cook up multiple avenues to put Joe Biden’s primary political opponent, former President Donald Trump, in jail before he can have the opportunity to take back the White House. But now that Trump has actually spoken out about this, the Associated Press and other media outlets are feigning outrage over the idea that a thorough housecleaning of the DoJ is in order. Were that to happen, the AP claims, it would represent “a new assault on the U.S. system.” (Whatever that’s supposed to mean.)

Candidates for crucial swing-state election posts who backed Trump’s push to overturn the 2020 election all lost their bids in last year’s elections. And, this week, federal prosecutors filed four felony charges against the former president for his role in the scheme to overturn President Joe Biden’s win.

But while those avenues for electoral mischief may be blocked or severely constrained in 2024, the prosecution — along with another federal indictment accusing Trump of mishandling classified information after leaving office — is providing additional urgency among conservatives for a plan to make over the U.S. Department of Justice.

That’s a step democracy advocates warn could mark a new assault on the U.S. system should Trump win the presidency a second time.

So in the opinion of the AP, calling a former (or even sitting) president a criminal is just another day at the office. And when it’s warranted, that should be the case as the current President is increasingly demonstrating. But the Attorney General and the rest of the Department of Justice are apparently beyond reproach and should never be questioned. Doing so would constitute an “assault” on our democracy or something of that sort.

To be clear, Merrick Garland is an absolute disgrace and if there is any justice remaining in this country today he should be facing impeachment charges sooner rather than later. The bizarre collection of charges that have been brought against Trump in multiple cases (described by more charitable observers as “novel”) are almost entirely a joke. We might make an exception in the classified documents case were it not for the proven fact that all recent presidents, including the current one, have done the exact same thing on multiple occasions and been completely ignored.

What we are witnessing is yet another attempt by insiders in the Department of Justice, the FBI, the CIA, and other elements of the swamp attempting to interfere in a presidential election, just as they did in 2016 and 2020. The leadership at the DOJ needs to be removed across the board and replaced with people who have some measure of integrity and a desire to see justice administered equally to all, including the Bad Orange Man. The heads of nearly every FBI field office should also be suspended until their track records can be more carefully examined. By bringing this up, Trump is not “threatening democracy.” He’s identifying a national emergency that demands immediate action.

But none of that is going to slow the swamp-dwellers down for a second. Prosecutors have now asked a judge for a protective order to prevent Trump from even talking about the latest case.

Prosecutors asked U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to issue a protective order in the case a day after Trump pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss and block the peaceful transition of power. The order — which is different from a so-called “gag order” — would limit what sensitive information Trump and his legal team could share publicly about the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

Such protective orders are common in criminal cases, but prosecutors said it’s “particularly important in this case” because Trump has issued “public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys and others associated with legal matters pending against him.”

What the Justice Department is actually trying to do here is prevent the public from learning what they’ve been up to. Jack Smith should never have been handed a role as a special counsel because he’s a political hack and, frankly, a joke. You will recall that Smith is the same prosecutor who managed to ram through charges and even obtain a conviction against former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (also a Republican by what I’m sure is just a coincidence) only to have the conviction unanimously thrown out by the Supreme Court. And getting the Supremes to do anything unanimously these days is almost miraculous. And yet here we are, with the person holding a massive lead in the primary polls and attempting to challenge Joe Biden in next year’s election facing multiple court dates and the possibility of being thrown in jail for the rest of his life. This has long since passed the point of being obscene.