The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee warned in a new op-ed that President Trump
Donald John TrumpSchiff: Nunes gave Trump 'secretly altered' version of memo Davis: ‘Deep state’ existed in ’16 – but it elected Trump Former Trump legal spokesman to testify to Mueller about undisclosed call: report MORE is trying weaponize the Department of Justice (DOJ) as a "political tool" to do his bidding.
"What we have witnessed during the first year of the Trump Administration is a determined effort to demolish the separation between politics and the fair administration of justice—an attempt to turn the DOJ’s investigative powers into the personal political tool of the president," Rep. Adam Schiff
Adam Bennett SchiffSchumer: Nunes intent on undermining 'rule of law' with altered memo Schiff: Nunes gave Trump 'secretly altered' version of memo Several lawmakers have seen intelligence behind Nunes memo MORE (D-Calif.) wrote in Esquire in an op-ed published Saturday.
"[I]t has become clear that the president views the idea that the DOJ should be anything other than an extension of his political operation as an unacceptable constraint on his authority," he added.
The California lawmaker cited several examples that he views as inappropriate presidential oversteps, arguing that Trump is attempting to convert the DOJ into an institution that protects his presidency rather than faithfully pursuing justice.
Schiff pointed to Trump's reported attempt last year to get then-FBI Director James Comey
James Brien ComeyDavis: ‘Deep state’ existed in ’16 – but it elected Trump WSJ: Agents' texts reveal McCabe knew of Clinton emails for at least a month CNN: FBI agent Strzok helped write letter reopening Clinton probe MORE to make a pledge of loyalty to him at a time when the FBI was investigating ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Trump allegedly also asked Comey to drop his probe into former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn.
The president also asked Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein
Rod Jay RosensteinOvernight Cybersecurity: GOP, FBI clash over FISA memo | Uber breach under Senate scrutiny | Upcoming House cyber diplomacy hearing Trump asked Rosenstein about Russia probe, if he was on Trump's 'team': report Nunes fires back at FBI for 'spurious objections' to memo release MORE, the top DOJ official overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller
Robert Swan MuellerSasse: US should applaud choice of Mueller to lead Russia probe MORE's Russia probe, whether he was Trump's "team," Schiff said.
Schiff also raised concern over the president's pressure on Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsUS to prioritize new asylum applications over past filings California considers state-run bank for pot businesses Trump doesn't recognize foreign-born black and brown people as American MORE to reopen an investigation into his former campaign opponent, Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonDavis: ‘Deep state’ existed in ’16 – but it elected Trump Former Trump legal spokesman to testify to Mueller about undisclosed call: report WSJ: Agents' texts reveal McCabe knew of Clinton emails for at least a month MORE, as well as "publicly berating" Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation.
Schiff argued in the op-ed that these incidences, among others, reveal that the president is trying to impose control over important institutions.
"Both the president’s public statements and his private actions make it clear that he is seeking nothing less than to destroy the institutions and norms that shield the Department of Justice from his direction," Schiff writes.
Schiff argues these events are made far more concerning amid Mueller's Russia probe, as well as the several congressional probes investigating the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 presidential election.
"This is all the more pernicious considering the fact that his own campaign is under investigation for possible collusion with the Russians in their interference in the presidential election. He would take the reins of the FBI to protect himself and to deploy their immense investigative powers against his political opponents at will," Schiff said.