Trump probes can de-weaponize the justice system starting with Alvin Braggs Daniel Penny case

In his second Inaugural Address, President Trump declared that “the weaponization of our Justice Department will end” and promised to “re-balance” its scales.Hours later, he issued an executive order adding teeth to that pledge.Because the Biden administration “engaged in an unprecedented, third-world weaponization of prosecutorial power to upend the democratic process,” Trump wrote, the president directed his administration to investigate the involvement of all federal agencies.Much of the effort to end lawfare will focus, as it should, on the Democrats’ use of federal and state prosecution to cripple candidate Trump.But the Trump Justice Department must also counter the misuse of prosecutorial authority against people with far less resources and fame.The most glaring example comes from New York City, where Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — when not busy exaggerating claims of bookkeeping mistakes into a case of election interference against Trump — prosecuted Marine veteran Daniel Penny for the chokehold death of a violent subway rider, Jordan Neely.Bragg painted Penny as a lawless vigilante, but a New York jury acquitted him for his heroic protection of his fellow citizens.This week’s executive orders show this White House understands the threat.Trump’s Day 1 executive order on “Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government” condemned the Biden administration for unconstitutionally using its law-enforcement powers for political purposes, wielding them against “parents protesting at school board meetings, Americans who spoke out against [Biden’s] actions” and others.To correct these misdeeds, Trump has at his disposal broad authority to fire federal agents and prosecutors who knowingly used their terrible powers for political purposes.He can order reforms in the federal bureaucracy to prevent abuse in the future.But some of the most serious violations of constitutional rights in the last four years occurred at the sta...