On Friday, Donald Trump forced out one of his nominated U.S. attorneys after the prosecutor failed to bring charges against some of the president’s political enemies. A day later, Trump published a public appeal to Attorney General Pam Bondi, telling her that his political foes are “guilty as hell” of unidentified crimes and directing her to go after them....

So when the White House announced on Monday morning that press secretary Karoline Leavitt would hold a briefing as the week got underway, it was only natural to wonder how in the world the president’s chief spokesperson would try to explain away her boss’ brazen efforts to corrupt the nation’s Justice Department....

Q: Is the president going back on his promise from his inaugural speech to not persecute political opponents?

LEAVITT: No. It is not weaponizing the DOJ to demand accountability for those who weaponized the DOJ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-09-22T17:30:08.230Z

A reporter reminded the press secretary that Trump, in his inaugural address, declared, “Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents. ... We will not allow that to happen. It will not happen again.” The reporter asked, “Is the president going back on his promise?”

“No,” Leavitt replied. “In fact, the president is fulfilling his promise to restore a Department of Justice that demands accountability, and it is not weaponizing the Department of Justice to demand accountability for those who weaponized the Department of Justice."....

Finally, the weaponization of the government can’t credibly be rebranded as “accountability” just because the White House says so.

Let’s not forget that Leavitt had plenty of time to come up with a proper response, and this was apparently the best she could do.

That’s unfortunate, because her attempted spin was pitiful and reinforced the fact that Trump’s efforts are simply indefensible.