There was a time when the Department of Justice operated in isolation from political whims. That era appears to be officially over.

Welcome to: *The Rule of Law*, sponsored by Donald Trump!

A massive new banner now hangs at DOJ headquarters, featuring a glowering image of Donald Trump looming over the words “MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.” It’s the kind of visual you expect outside a rally or pasted onto merch, not installed at the nation’s chief law enforcement agency. And yet, here we are, marinating in what can only be described as peak authoritarian aesthetic.

If you were worried that Trump’s second-term takeover of the DOJ might still have some guardrails, the banner is here to reassure you nope!

Early in Trump's second term, Attorney General Pam Bondi rebranded the Department of Justice into what can only be described as Trump’s personal law firm. Under her direction, DOJ has advanced paper-thin cases against Trump’s political and personal enemies like James Comey, Letitia James, and John Bolton while conveniently redefining “prosecutorial discretion” to mean “whatever the boss wants today.”

And this banner is a full-volume declaration that DOJ now exists to serve one man and his brand.

A fact folks are noticing. Former Rep. Barbara Comstock summed it up with brutal efficiency, “Nothing says Justice is Blind like hanging a Dear Leader Banner at DOJ…”

Republican strategist Sarah Longwell was even less restrained, saying, “Can’t imagine why people call him a fascist.”

Former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum put a finer point on it, “The Trump DoJ is a pure creature of presidential whim, retribution, and cover-up — so this banner has the virtue of candor at least.”

Ouch. And that criticism is coming from Trump’s own party.

The banner also arrives amid an ongoing brain drain at the department, as career attorneys continue to flee rather than lend their law licenses to what increasingly looks like a grievance machine with subpoena power. When the message from leadership is that loyalty to Trump matters more than fidelity to the law, the people who still care about the latter tend to head for the exits.

Symbols matter, particularly to authoritarian regimes. And plastering the visage of Trump with a cult-of-personality slogan over the headquarters of federal law enforcement is a disturbing image to say the least.

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