Overview
- Obama, in an interview that aired May 5 on CBS's The Late Show, said the attorney general is "the people's lawyer," not the president's "consigliere," and urged Congress to lock that norm into law.
- The White House issued a blistering rebuttal, with spokesperson Davis Ingle calling Obama "a classless moron" and accusing him of "Trump Derangement Syndrome."
- Critics point to Trump's Truth Social posts urging then–Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue specific opponents and to later court rulings that threw out charges after a judge found Trump-picked prosecutor Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed.
- Under Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Justice Department has pursued new charges against James Comey over an Instagram photo reading "86 47," which some Trump supporters saw as a threat, and Comey deleted the post while saying he rejects violence.
- Republicans escalated pushback, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis invoking the Russia probe, while coverage diverged as Fox highlighted Eric Holder's past "wingman" remark and USA TODAY emphasized prior use of special counsels to shield sensitive cases.