John —
Throughout much of his presidency, Donald Trump attacked me constantly — literally hundreds of times on Twitter, in interviews, even during meetings with foreign heads of state.
He accused me of treason, said I should be investigated, and that someone needed to “do something” about me.
I always wondered whether his constant badgering of his Attorneys General to go after me would cause them to do so. I never imagined I would need to be concerned about such things in this country — that was the stuff of petty dictatorships, not the United States of America.
But last month, I learned that Trump’s Justice Department secretly subpoenaed records from Apple that pertained to me, one of my colleagues on the Intelligence Committee, members of my staff, and family members, even a minor child. Then they got a gag order so that we would not know. This is unprecedented.
Already, the Department has agreed to an Inspector General investigation into what appears to have been a partisan effort to go after vocal critics of the president and using the Justice Department to do so.
It is shocking and appalling, and yet, not at all surprising.
For years, first Jeff Sessions and then Bill Barr badly politicized the Department, to the point where the former president could call for his allies, like Roger Stone and Mike Flynn, to have their sentences reduced or their cases dismissed entirely, and the Justice Department would do so. He also wanted to use the Department to go after his perceived political enemies.
The harm Trump did to the Justice Department, where I served with pride for six years, will last more than a decade. We must do a full assessment of the damage, and develop stronger guardrails to protect the Department’s independence in the future.
But this week’s revelations also remind me just how grateful I am to you. For your support. For your faith. And for your help during those terrible four years and since.
Thank you for always having my back, and standing with me.
Adam
