Donald Trump has repeatedly declared that various people who have crossed him, including state and federal prosecutors, members of Congress, and President Joe Biden, should be investigated, prosecuted, and jailed. But in a Meet the Press interview on Sunday, the president-elect said he would not direct his subordinates to follow through on those threats after he takes office on January 20. Trump told the show's host, Kristen Welker, he would instead leave those decisions to his appointees at the FBI and the Justice Department.
That commitment is not exactly reassuring, since Trump's pick to run the FBI, Kash Patel, has repeatedly threatened to "come after" Trump's political opponents, including journalists as well as current and former government officials. Patel published an enemies list as an appendix to his 2023 book Government Gangsters, which alleges a "Deep State" conspiracy against Trump that Patel equates with a conspiracy to subvert democracy and the Constitution. The list, which includes 60 names, is limited to people who have served in the executive branch. Patel notes that it does not include "other corrupt actors of the highest order," such as Rep. Adam Schiff (D–Calif.), Rep. Eric Swalwell (D–Calif.), and "the entire fake news mafia press corps."
