President-elect Donald Trump – convicted felon and psychopath – has made no secret of his desire to seek revenge on scores of people whom he deems his enemies, people in many professions and fields who have only been doing their jobs but who could become potential targets for investigation or worse. While Trump is often bluster, behaving like a bully on the playground, and his bark might be worse than his bite, he has proven over the course of his entire adult life that he is ruthless; the term “Mob Boss” has been applied to him by people who know him well. Even if he only does a small portion of what he has threatened in the way of retribution, the mere act of having his minions file bogus charges or unsubstantiated lawsuits on an average citizen could have devastating effects.
(Intimidation is, in part, the point, as he has admitted.) Further, Trump could order politically-motivated IRS audits, and his threats already have a chilling effect on free speech – many critics do fear speaking out publicly against him.
Trump’s potential targets, in his stated goal of destroying the (non-existent) “deep state,” include many individuals – often hard-working, non-partisan civil servants – who are far from wealthy. In addition to potentially having their reputations damaged by false accusations, victims could suffer great harm. Investigations can be financially ruinous, even if any charges do not stick; “a legal defense can quickly cross the six-figure mark.” Trump knows that average Americans do not have that kind of money, which is part of the point – they are generally weak and vulnerable in his cruel eyes, and thus easy targets. Trump has indicated that he would like “his” FBI and Department of Justice to “take action against senators, judges, members of [President Joe] Biden’s family and even non-governmental organizations.” Trump’s underlying rationale goes back to the Big Lie: his absurd assertion that he won the 2020 election and that Biden won it due to massive voter fraud.
If anyone thinks this is normal or acceptable behavior on the part of a former and incoming US President – part of the normal political discourse – it is not; Trump’s is an egregious abuse of the freedom of speech clause and unheard of before he came on the scene in 2015. It does enormous damage not only to individuals but also to our democratic experiment.
As we noted earlier, there is a wide-ranging form of resistance taking place across the country as Inauguration Day draws closer (and as Trump and his enablers are already taking steps to enact the measures outlined in Project 2025). But what about those innocent Americans who will or might become Trump’s targets in future months and years who do not have the financial or other resources to fight his false accusations?
A movement is taking shape! A “sprawling initiative,” comprised of lawyers, accountants, employment experts, public relations professionals, and even psychologists, is coming to life as a free nationwide network – a “loose-knit blend of new and existing nonprofit groups” – to assist these potential victims. The goals of the network include defending and protecting defendants, helping people whose taxes might come under audit, advising workers who unjustly lose their jobs, repairing damaged reputations, and managing stress. Contributions to nonprofit groups or through web-based donation sites would pay for the services.
Several people are in the forefront of the initiative.
- Norm Eisen is a co-founder of the State Democracy Defenders Fund, a nonprofit group that offers pro bono legal services. According to Eisen, “The pro bono bar and nonprofit legal organizations need to be ready to provide strong support to those who are targeted unfairly.”
- Mark Zaid, a private national security attorney and DC-based “Super Lawyer,” has been recruiting people to participate. In an interview, Zaid stated, “We don’t know what to expect other than we listen to [Trump’s] promises. And there’s not a great track record with keeping promises, but when it comes to retribution and retaliation, he seems to keep them more often than he breaks them.”
- Rosa Brooks, a former Defense Department official now at Georgetown University Law Center, points out that a network like the one coming together may not deter the Trump administration from targeting critics, but it could make the effort harder. According to Brooks, “there will be resources in place to ensure that [victims] have really robust legal defenses against politically motivated investigations and prosecutions.”
One hopes that innocent Americans who are obeying the law, upholding the Constitution, and just doing their jobs will not be targeted by Trump and his sycophants. 
One hopes that whatever guardrails are supposed to be in place in our legal system – law enforcement officials, lawmakers, bar associations, judges – will, if called upon, do the right thing for potential victims. Unfortunately, Trump’s history and the plan outlined by Project 2025 strongly suggest that innocent Americans will be threatened and that our legal system will be tested, yet again.
It is incumbent upon the rest of us to stay on top of this issue and to support any victims who might well be our colleagues, our friends, our family members, our neighbors, the federal worker who helped us with a sticky issue. The legal system should go after true lawbreakers, not innocent Americans – our democratic republic depends on consistent adherence to the rule of law. The potential dangers to our entire system, therefore, are not hypothetical: they are real in the Age of Trump 2.0.