STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The president campaigned for office promising retribution.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
During that campaign, critics and supporters alike warned that it's wrong for a president to go after people he doesn't like. So Trump downplayed his promise, saying his retribution would merely be success. Now Trump is president. In his first 100 days, the president has ordered the U.S. government to target his personal political opponents, as well as law firms, universities and others. An NPR analysis finds Trump has taken action against more than 100 people and institutions.
INSKEEP: NPR investigative correspondent Tom Dreisbach compiled that list and is with us. Good morning, Tom.
TOM DREISBACH, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: Who exactly is Trump targeting?
DREISBACH: Yeah. It's a really wide spectrum of people and institutions that Trump has gone after. It includes lawyers and law firms often with ties to Democrats, political opponents, people who worked on investigations into Trump or the January 6 rioters, media companies, universities and then also people who actually worked in the first Trump administration but who Trump considers disloyal.
INSKEEP: And when we say targeted, what kind of actions are involved here?
DREISBACH: So at maybe the harshest end are these criminal investigations. And Trump has actually ordered multiple Justice Department investigations right from the Oval Office. One of those investigations targets Christopher Krebs. He was a top cybersecurity official in the first Trump administration. Trump fired him back then for saying the 2020 election was safe and secure. And here is what Trump said about Krebs earlier this month.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: He's the fraud. He's a disgrace. So we'll find out whether or not it was a safe election, and if it wasn't, he's got a big price to pay.
DREISBACH: Then there's Miles Taylor, who also served in the first Trump administration. Back then, Taylor wrote this anonymous op-ed that said Trump was erratic and dangerous. Here is what Trump said about him.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: I think he's guilty of treason, if you want to know the truth, but we'll find out. And I assume we're recommending this to the Department of Justice?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yes, sir.
DREISBACH: So Trump was not just ordering an investigation into Taylor - he was also effectively telling the investigators what he thought the outcome should be. Both Krebs and Taylor say they are being retaliated against for telling the truth.
INSKEEP: It's striking to think about this, Tom, because Trump, of course, accused President Biden of using the Justice Department against him. Lawfare is what Republicans called it. He said that was wrong. Biden denied he was doing any such thing. Trump is openly doing that, openly doing the thing that he said was wrong. So what other government powers is he using?
DREISBACH: Well, we found the administration using more than 10 different agencies in various ways, not just the Justice Department, which we should say is also announcing criminal investigations into the Democratic governor and attorney general of New Jersey over immigration policy. Trump has also pulled secret service protection for two of President Biden's children, Hunter and Ashley. Media companies that Trump dislikes are facing investigations from the FCC. That includes NPR, we should say. Universities are facing investigations from the Department of Education, international students who protested the war in Gaza have also faced ICE detention and deportation.
INSKEEP: Well, what does the administration say about this?
DREISBACH: Well, they didn't respond to our request for comment for this story. And on the one hand, the White House says that Trump is ending what they call the weaponization of government, which you just mentioned. And when they're pressed on this issue, though, and the fact that Trump is actually directing specific criminal investigations from the Oval Office, well, they say their investigations are merited and it's about accountability.
INSKEEP: What do the people targeted by the power of the presidency have to say?
DREISBACH: Well, some are very confident that Trump's actions are unconstitutional and they won't hold up in court. In the cases of the law firms, for example, judges have actually blocked parts of the orders for violating the Constitution. One judge said it was a, quote, "shocking abuse of power" from the administration. But even the process of investigation can be stressful and scary. Law firms are losing clients, people have lost jobs and multiple sources said they could not talk with us because speaking out just puts a bigger target on your back.
INSKEEP: NPR's Tom Dreisbach is speaking about what he found in the facts of his reporting. Thanks so much.
DREISBACH: Thanks, Steve.
(SOUNDBITE OF SEAN ANGUS WATSON'S "WALTZ IN SWEATERS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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