Harris says Trump is using DOJ for ‘personal vengeance,’ questions justice system’s integrity

WASHINGTON, DC: Former Vice President Kamala Harris openly questioned the integrity of the Department of Justice, warning that Americans “can’t trust” the agency under the Trump administration.

Speaking on MSNBC’s The Weekend on Sunday, October 12, Harris accused Trump of waging a campaign of vengeance against his critics and using the federal government as a weapon. She cited the recent indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James as examples of politically motivated retaliation.

Kamala Harris accuses Donald Trump of political retaliation

In an interview with MSNBC host Eugene Daniels, Kamala Harris said she doesn’t believe Americans can trust the Department of Justice under Trump’s leadership.

“I don’t know if we can trust what’s coming out of the Department of Justice right now,” Harris said, noting that the statement was difficult for her as someone who spent most of her career as a prosecutor.

“And that pains me to say that as someone who spent the majority of my career as a prosecutor, where the work of a prosecutor should be to do justice,” she added.

Harris emphasized that prosecutors are meant to serve justice, not political interests, and should carry out their duties “without any fear and not in the interest of favor.” She argued that this ideal no longer holds under Trump’s influence.

 “When you have an administration and individuals who are manipulating the justice system of America in that way, they should understand this is not only about something that affects the individuals they’re targeting,” Harris said.

“This affects all of us who believe that, flawed though it may be, a justice system is actually supposed to be blind in the way it does its work — not targeting people because of who they are or what they look like,” she added.

Harris pointed to the indictments of Comey and James as evidence of what she called Trump’s personal “vengeance” against his opponents, accusing him of using the federal government to carry it out.

Kamala Harris criticizes Trump during '107 Days' book tourtour

During her '107 Days' book tour, Harris intensified her criticism of Trump. At a recent event in Los Angeles, she didn’t hold back, using explicit language to describe the Trump administration.

“There’s so much about this moment that is making people feel like they’ve lost their minds. When, in fact, these motherfk* are crazy,” Harris said.

Earlier, on October 4, Harris energized a packed 2,650-seat crowd at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in Houston. While promoting '107 Days,' she reflected on her intense 3.5-month campaign against Trump, calling it “unprecedented” and noting that he had “been running for 10 years.” 

When one audience member shouted, “And he never did!” Harris laughed, while moderator Carlos Eduardo Espina, an immigrant rights activist, stood and joined in the moment.

Harris closed the event with a more reflective message, “No one election or individual or circumstance can take that from you. It is the light that we each carry inside of us, it is the light that we see in each other… it is the light that carries us, particularly right now, during the darkest of times.”

Throughout her tour, Harris has continued to repeat a disputed claim about Trump’s political momentum. She made similar remarks during a September 27 speech at Howard University and again in a recent MSNBC interview, even though electoral data shows Trump’s 2024 victory gave him the widest Electoral College margin since 2012.