The Death of Justice: A Warning to the American People

There is a moment in the history of every democracy where the people must decide whether they will fight to preserve their freedoms or allow corruption to strangle them into submission. That moment is here. Not next year. Not in some distant, hypothetical future. Right now.

The decision by President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice to drop the federal prosecution of New York City Mayor Eric Adams is not just a story about a mayor, an indictment, or even the resignation of seven principled federal prosecutors. It is a story about the slow, insidious dismantling of the rule of law in America—and if we do not sound the alarm now, we may find that by the time we do, it will be too late.

A Dangerous Precedent

The Justice Department, under the authority of President Trump, exercised its constitutional discretion to drop the prosecution of Mayor Adams. The president, through his attorney general, has the power to set prosecutorial priorities, and this case was ultimately deemed less critical than enforcing immigration laws. However, let’s not pretend we don’t see exactly what’s happening here. The president’s Justice Department just let a politician walk free, and in return, that politician is now expected to fall in line.

The resignation of multiple federal prosecutors, including Danielle Sassoon, is not just an unfortunate footnote. It’s the canary in the coal mine. Sassoon, in her resignation letter, stated that she believed the case was dropped as part of a quid pro quo rather than for legitimate legal reasons. Let’s be very clear about what that means: the legal system was used, not to uphold justice, but as a political bargaining chip. If that doesn’t terrify you, then you haven’t been paying attention.

This is more than just one case. It is the beginning of a dangerous shift in American democracy. When justice is no longer impartial—when prosecutions and dismissals are wielded as tools of political loyalty—the entire system collapses. This is how democracies die: not with a single, dramatic event, but with a slow, steady erosion of checks and balances. If we do not resist this now, what’s to stop the next case, and the next, from being determined not by the law, but by political expediency?

What Comes Next?

If prosecutorial decisions are driven by political considerations, what safeguards remain? When political allegiance dictates who faces justice and who does not, the American justice system doesn’t just weaken—it ceases to exist in any meaningful way.

Consider the slippery slope: If cases can be dismissed based on political convenience, what happens when the DOJ is directed to prosecute political opponents under fabricated charges? What stops the Justice Department from targeting journalists who expose corruption? What prevents law enforcement from raiding opposition campaign offices under the guise of national security concerns?

You might be thinking, That can’t happen here. And yet, step by step, precedent by precedent, we are watching the blueprint unfold in real time.

Look at Poland in the 2010s: a democratic government that systematically undermined judicial independence until courts were effectively tools of the ruling party. It happened fast—within a single decade. One law at a time, one dismissal at a time. That is what backsliding looks like. That is what we are witnessing now.

The Reality for Everyday Americans

In 2017, Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates faced a profound ethical dilemma. Ordered to enforce an executive directive she deemed unlawful, Yates chose to uphold the Constitution, fully aware that her decision could cost her position. Her subsequent dismissal sent shockwaves through the legal community, serving as a stark reminder of the perils that arise when the justice system is wielded as a political weapon. Yates's experience is not an isolated incident but a cautionary tale of what transpires when legal principles are subjugated to political expediency.

If the justice system is manipulated for political ends, no one is truly safe. No one. You don’t have to be a politician to be caught in the crosshairs of a government that decides who is guilty and who is untouchable.

Imagine a future where whistleblowers uncover government corruption but are silenced through targeted investigations. Imagine a journalist exposing financial fraud at the highest levels, only to find themselves indicted for unrelated charges. Imagine an ordinary business owner donating to the "wrong" political party, suddenly facing an IRS audit or legal harassment. These are not abstract threats; they are the logical consequences of a legal system that serves power rather than principle.

We have seen this before.

The danger isn’t hypothetical. Reality Winner, an NSA contractor, leaked classified information about Russian interference in the 2016 election. She was swiftly prosecuted under the Espionage Act and sentenced to five years in prison—the harshest sentence ever imposed on a government leaker. Meanwhile, journalists such as James Risen, a New York Times reporter, were repeatedly subpoenaed and pressured by both the Bush and Obama administrations to reveal sources, under threat of imprisonment. More recently, the DOJ secretly seized phone and email records of multiple reporters covering national security stories under both Trump and Biden. These are not isolated incidents—they are part of a larger pattern of using the justice system to control information and intimidate dissenters.

The Silence of the Enablers

Why do so many in Congress and positions of power remain silent? Because silence is the currency of self-preservation. Some lawmakers hesitate to speak out because they believe they may be next if they cross the wrong people. Others see an opportunity to benefit politically, knowing that if they align themselves with those in power, they may avoid scrutiny. This silence is not just complicity—it is an endorsement of a system that erodes democracy in favor of authoritarian control.

Look at the senators and House members who once railed against DOJ overreach, who claimed to champion judicial independence, but now shrug as the system is bent in their favor. Where are their voices now? They are quiet because speaking up means risking their own political survival.

A Call to Action

We must demand accountability. We must demand transparency. Congress must investigate the Justice Department’s decision to drop the charges against Mayor Adams. The American people deserve to know whether this was a legal decision or a political transaction.

But demanding answers is not enough. Every citizen has a role to play in protecting democracy. Call your representatives. Show up. Speak out. Vote. Support organizations that fight for judicial independence. Educate others about what is happening. Because if history has taught us anything, it’s that democracies don’t die when bad people seize power. They die when good people do nothing.

Final Thought: The Last Line of Defense

A justice system that serves power instead of the people isn’t a justice system at all—it’s a weapon.

Democracy doesn’t require a conspiracy to collapse—it only needs silence.

History will remember what we did at this moment—or what we failed to do. The rule of law is on trial. The jury is watching. And you are on it.

The time to act is now. Before ‘not yet’ becomes ‘too late.’