Following his inauguration on January 20, 2025, Donald Trump committed to a fair application of the law, contrasting this with how he claimed he was previously treated by federal entities. He specifically vowed to end what he described as a "vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government." Since then, the Trump administration has actively pursued legal investigations targeting several elected and appointed officials who have opposed the president or failed to acquiesce to his directives.
Among the latest officials under federal scrutiny are Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and additional public figures in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. These individuals were served with grand jury subpoenas as part of a broad immigration enforcement operation. Prosecutors sought records related to possible obstruction or hindrance of law enforcement activities during the operation. Additional subpoenas were delivered to offices including those of Attorney General Keith Ellison, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties.
Sources familiar with the investigation, who requested anonymity due to the ongoing nature of the inquiry, indicated the subpoenas demanded extensive documentation, including materials that could demonstrate refusal to cooperate with immigration officials. Walz and Frey, both Democrats, have publicly criticized the investigation as a coercive measure intended to intimidate political opposition.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has also become a focus of the administration’s probes. Powell disclosed in a rare video statement that the Justice Department had subpoenaed the Federal Reserve and threatened criminal charges shortly after his Senate Banking Committee testimony earlier in the year. The testimony took place after Powell resisted Trump's pressure to more aggressively lower interest rates and defended the Fed's office renovation costs, a point Trump had criticized publicly.
Powell labeled the Justice Department's inquiry a