Former President Obama on Tuesday warned against allowing the attorney general to become the president’s “consigliere,” emphasizing the need for the nation’s top prosecutor to remain independent of political influence.
Obama made the comments during an interview on CBS’s “The Late Show” as the Department of Justice (DOJ) under President Trump pursues a number of prosecutions of the president’s opponents, including former FBI Director James Comey.
The former attorney general, Pam Bondi, resigned earlier this year amid unhappiness from Trump over how the DOJ was performing.
“The White House shouldn’t be able to direct the attorney general to go around prosecuting whoever the president wants prosecuted,” Obama told Stephen Colbert, after the late-night host asked him what powers the executive should not have.
“The idea is that the attorney general is the people’s lawyer, it’s not the president’s consigliere,” the former president added, referencing the Italian term for an adviser or counselor.
Obama argued that democracy could withstand “bad policy” and “funky elections,” but he drew the line at politicizing the criminal justice system.
“You can’t have a situation in which whoever’s in charge of the government starts using that to go after the political enemies and reward their friends, right?” he said, also cautioning against pardoning individuals “who’ve given you a bunch of campaign contributions.”
The former president did not mention President Trump by name, but his comments appeared to be a veiled swipe at a president who has publicly pressured the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute his perceived political foes.
“Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done,’” Trump posted on Truth Social in September, addressing Bondi, who was still serving as attorney general at the time.
Obama noted that he would often consult with his attorney general, Eric Holder, around “broad policy issues,” but never on specific cases.
The DOJ has opened criminal investigations into several of Trump’s purported rivals since the start of his second term, including New York Attorney General Leticia James (D), Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, among others.
The department has also pursued charges against Comey twice, initially securing an indictment against him last September for allegedly making false statements and obstruction charges stemming from 2020 congressional testimony over FBI leaks. The case was later dismissed after a judge found the federal prosecutor who secured the charges had been unlawfully appointed.
A federal grand jury indicted Comey again last week on two charges of allegedly threatening Trump’s life in connection with a since-deleted social media post of seashells arranged to read “86 47.”
Trump and his allies widely interpreted the post to be a deliberate threat against the 47th president; however, Comey has maintained his innocence and said he did not know the numbers could be associated with violence.
