Some See Trump Weaponizing Government In Targeting Of Judge And Democratic Fundraising Site

On Thursday, President Donald Trump directed his Department of Justice to investigate ActBlue , the Democratic Party-aligned fundraising site that has fueled so many successful challenges against his own party.

The next day, amid a long-running feud with judges who have put some of his initiatives on hold because they may violate the Constitution, Trump's FBI arrested a Milwaukee judge , alleging she had helped a migrant evade immigration authorities.

The two acts sent shockwaves through the legal and political worlds, which already have been reeling as Trump has used his office to target law firms , media outlets and individuals with whom he disagrees. The investigations are the latest version of a clear pattern in Trump's second term: The president has harnessed the power of the federal government to punish his enemies and anyone he sees as standing in his way.

"This government has been consistent, from the moment it took office, in weaponizing the government and deploying it against critics," said Steve Levitsky, a Harvard political scientist and the coauthor of "How Democracies Die." "This is not a surprise. Trump campaigned on it and he's been doing it since day one."

The complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday accused Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan of ushering the man, who is accused of being in the country illegally, out the "jury door" of her courtroom. The complaint alleges the judge became "visibly angry" when told there were immigration agents in the courthouse.