At approximately midnight on Thursday, FBI and Homeland Security agents arrested journalist Don Lemon in Beverly Hills. His crime: covering a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
A federal magistrate judge had already refused to approve Lemon’s arrest, finding prosecutors hadn’t shown probable cause. A chief appeals judge upheld that decision, writing there was “no evidence” of criminal behavior in Lemon’s work. The DOJ withdrew its warrant request. Then it went around all of them — obtained a grand jury indictment and arrested him anyway.
Attorney General Pam Bondi personally announced the arrest. The White House posted a mocking meme: “When life gives you lemons...” with a chains emoji.
Rep. Tom Emmer — who represents the district next door — had already weighed in on the Cities Church protest. He called the demonstrators “anti-ICE agitators“ who were “storming into a church.” He thanked Bondi for “taking action to arrest the rioters.” On Fox & Friends, he called them “paid activists and agitators.”
He did not mention that a federal judge had found no probable cause. He did not mention that Lemon was there as a journalist. He did not mention that, in the preceding twelve days, ICE agents in his state had killed two U.S. citizens in separate incidents — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — and that the Justice Department has opened no criminal investigation into either death.
What he did say — a year before all of this — tells you everything.
The Quote
In January 2025, defending President Trump’s blanket pardons for January 6th defendants, Emmer explained the move on camera:
“The weaponization of our legal system against certain people because of their political beliefs.”
That was the principle. The justice system, Emmer said, should never be used as a weapon against people for what they believe.
On February 25, 2025, his party’s House Judiciary Committee held a hearing literally titled “Entering the Golden Age: Ending the Weaponization of the Justice Department.” The entire hearing was dedicated to cataloging how the Biden administration had allegedly abused the DOJ. Emmer’s caucus organized it. His leadership team promoted it.
The principle was clear. The justice system is sacred. It must be blind to politics.
Then the Trump administration took office and started doing exactly what Emmer warned against. And Emmer didn’t just go silent.
He applauded.
The Applause
This is what separates Emmer from a typical politician being quietly hypocritical. He hasn’t just failed to speak up. He has actively celebrated the same machinery he once called corrupt.
Same man. Same issue. Same justice system. The only thing that changed is who’s in charge.
On James Comey’s indictment (September 25, 2025):
“FINALLY—James Comey has been indicted for lying to congress and obstruction of justice. This deep state hack peddled the Russia hoax to sabotage Trump, posted ‘8647’ as a sick death threat against him, and leaked classified memos to spark the sham Mueller probe!” — @tomemmer
On Comey earlier (May 15, 2025):
“Disgraced ex-FBI director James Comey is calling for President Trump to be murdered. Comey led the SHAM Russia hoax against the President and suffers from extreme Trump derangement syndrome. He should be held accountable!” — @tomemmer
On Kash Patel’s confirmation (February 20, 2025):
“Congratulations, @FBIDirectorKash! The days of political weaponization and misplaced priorities at the Bureau are OVER.” — @GOPMajorityWhip
On Adam Schiff (October 23, 2025):
“’Adam Schiff is one of the lowest forms of scum I’ve ever dealt with in politics. He’s a horrible human being... I think he’s actually a sick person.’ I second that, Mr. President!” — @tomemmer
On Trump’s DOJ visit (March 14, 2025):
“.@POTUS was clear at the DOJ today: we’re going to restore law and order and end the political weaponization of our justice system. With @AGPamBondi, @FBIDirectorKash, and @TheLeoTerrell leading the way, that mission will be accomplished.” — @GOPMajorityWhip
On Pam Bondi in Minnesota (January 20, 2026):
“Thank you @AGPamBondi for being on the ground in Minnesota. The great people of our state deserve JUSTICE.” — @GOPMajorityWhip
On the Cities Church arrests (January 22, 2026):
“Thank you, President Trump and @AGPamBondi, for your swift action in making these arrests.” — @tomemmer
“God bless @POTUS and @VP for addressing the lawlessness in Minneapolis, and hats off to @AGPamBondi for taking action to arrest the rioters who disrupted Cities Church’s services.” — @GOPMajorityWhip
These aren’t leaked quotes or anonymous sources. These are Tom Emmer’s own words, posted on his official accounts, still live as of this writing.
The Hit List
While Emmer was applauding, here is what the Trump Justice Department has actually been doing — the same DOJ that Emmer said would “end the political weaponization of our justice system”:
James Comey — Former FBI Director. Indicted September 2025 on charges of lying to Congress. Case dismissed November 24 after a federal judge ruled the prosecutor — Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s former personal attorney — was unconstitutionally appointed.
Letitia James — New York Attorney General who sued Trump for business fraud. Indicted October 2025 on mortgage fraud charges. Case dismissed November 24 on the same grounds. Grand juries then refused to re-indict — not once, not twice, but three times in December alone.
Adam Schiff — U.S. Senator and former House Intelligence Committee chair. Under investigation after Trump posted on Truth Social directing Bondi to pursue him: “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
Jerome Powell — Federal Reserve Chair. Appointed by Trump himself. Now under criminal investigation reportedly related to Fed building renovations — after refusing to cut interest rates on Trump’s timeline.
Lisa Cook — Federal Reserve Governor. Under investigation after Trump tried to fire her and was blocked by the courts.
John Brennan, Jack Smith — Former CIA Director and former Special Counsel. Both under investigation.
Fulton County, Georgia — On January 28, 2026, 25 FBI agents raided the Fulton County elections office, seizing 700 boxes of 2020 ballots. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard personally attended the raid. This is the same county whose district attorney indicted Trump in 2023.
Don Lemon — Journalist. Arrested January 30, 2026, for covering a protest at a Minnesota church. A federal judge had already found no probable cause. Prosecutors went around that judge and got a grand jury indictment.
Every single person on this list is someone who has publicly opposed, investigated, prosecuted, or inconvenienced Donald Trump.
Tom Emmer has not expressed concern about a single one of these cases.
The System Said No
This is the part that should disturb every American regardless of party — and the part Tom Emmer has been most silent about.
At nearly every stage, the institutional safeguards of the American justice system pushed back against these prosecutions. And at every stage, the administration bulldozed through them.
The prosecutors who refused:
Erik Siebert was Trump’s own appointed acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. He reviewed the evidence against Comey and James and concluded the cases were too weak to bring. He resigned on September 19, 2025 — under pressure. Trump posted on Truth Social the next day demanding Bondi prosecute.
Elizabeth Yusi, a senior prosecutor in Norfolk, told colleagues she saw no probable cause against James. Robert McBride, the No. 2 in the office, was asked to take over the Comey prosecution. He declined. He was fired on January 12, 2026.
Todd Gilbert, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, was pressured to resign after refusing to sideline a prosecutor who found insufficient evidence.
Career prosecutors in the Eastern District broadly refused to present the cases. None of them would go before the grand jury. Lindsey Halligan — a former Trump personal attorney with zero prosecutorial experience, whose background was in insurance law — had to present the cases alone.
The grand juries that refused:
A Norfolk grand jury refused to indict Letitia James on December 4. An Alexandria grand jury refused to indict her on December 11 — even after prosecutors added a third felony charge. When the DOJ tried to seal the failure, a magistrate judge refused that, too. Grand juries also declined to re-indict Comey twice in December.
Grand jury refusals are extraordinarily rare. The standard of proof is far lower than at trial. Prosecutors only need 12 of 23 jurors. No defense attorneys are present. The old legal saying is that a prosecutor could “indict a ham sandwich.” These grand juries wouldn’t indict Letitia James.
The judges who rebuked:
Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled Halligan was “unconstitutionally appointed” and dismissed both the Comey and James indictments, writing that Halligan was exercising power she “did not lawfully possess.” Another judge called Halligan’s continued presence “a charade... masquerading as the United States Attorney... in direct defiance of binding court orders.”
In the Don Lemon case, a federal magistrate judge refused to approve the criminal complaint, finding no probable cause. A chief appeals judge upheld that refusal. The DOJ withdrew its warrant request — then obtained a grand jury indictment and arrested him anyway.
What happened next:
The administration fired the prosecutors who refused. Replaced them with loyalists. Went to different grand juries. Added more charges. When judges said no, they found different judges. When magistrates blocked warrants, they got grand jury indictments instead.
Tom Emmer — the man who warned about “weaponization” — has said nothing about any of it. Not the firings. Not the grand jury shopping. Not the unconstitutional appointments. Not the judges’ rebukes.
Before and After
From Emmer’s own feed — the contrast in his own words:
Before Trump took office:
“Every single American should be alarmed at the Biden Administration’s weaponization of our justice system.” — August 10, 2022
“Today is a historic low for our nation. The Democrat Party has proven there is nothing they won’t do to hold onto power – even if it means weaponizing our justice system to target a political opponent.” — April 4, 2023
“The Durham report confirmed what Americans already knew: Democrats weaponized the FBI and DOJ to go after Donald Trump for pure political purposes.” — May 21, 2023
“Americans are tired of the two-tiered justice system in this country.” — August 2, 2023
“Democrats are weaponizing our justice system to take out their top political opponent.” — February 25, 2024
“Biden had @realDonaldTrump arrested... Biden knows he can’t beat Trump fair and square so he is using his Justice Department to try to take him out.” — May 7, 2024
“Democrats will stop at nothing – even if it means weaponizing our justice system and trampling on the rule of law – to try and prevent President Trump from getting to the White House.” — June 4, 2024
“The American people have made it abundantly clear: they want our courts to go after REAL criminals, not be weaponized to attack the Democrats’ political opponents.” — January 10, 2025
“He should be held accountable!” — May 15, 2025, on Comey
“’Adam Schiff is one of the lowest forms of scum I’ve ever dealt with in politics.’ I second that, Mr. President!” — October 23, 2025
“Hats off to @AGPamBondi for taking action to arrest the rioters.” — January 22, 2026
There is no daylight between these positions — except the identity of who’s doing the weaponizing.
When Biden’s DOJ investigated Trump, it was an outrage against democracy. When Trump’s DOJ indicts political opponents, fires prosecutors who refuse, shops for new grand juries after three refusals, and arrests a journalist covering a protest in Minnesota after two judges said no — it’s “law and order.”
Same justice system. Same tools. Different targets. Different reaction from Tom Emmer.
In Rhetoric vs. Reality #1, we documented how Emmer demanded “accountability” for protesters who slashed tires but said nothing about officers who beat a constituent unconscious. The principle wasn’t “accountability.” It was whose side you’re on.
The same principle applies here. Emmer’s concern about “weaponization” was never about the integrity of the justice system. If it were, he’d have said something — anything — when:
Trump’s own appointed prosecutor was forced out for concluding cases were too weak
A former personal attorney with no prosecutorial experience was installed to bring politically motivated indictments
Three separate grand juries refused to indict a sitting Attorney General
Federal judges called the prosecutions “unconstitutional” and a “charade”
A journalist was arrested for covering a protest in his state after two judges said no
He said nothing about any of it. What he did do was celebrate the indictments, praise the architects, and thank the President.
The Questions
Representative Emmer:
You said the justice system should never be “weaponized against certain people because of their political beliefs.”
Is a journalist being arrested for covering a protest — after two judges found no probable cause — consistent with that principle?
When three grand juries refused to indict Letitia James and the DOJ kept trying, did that concern you?
When career prosecutors were fired for concluding cases were too weak, did you ask why?
When a judge called the Trump-appointed prosecutor’s work “a charade” and “unconstitutional,” did you request oversight?
Jerome Powell — whom Trump appointed — is under criminal investigation for building renovations after disagreeing on rate policy. Is that “weaponization”?
Your party held a hearing called “Ending the Weaponization of the Justice Department.” Will you call for another one now?
909 days without a town hall. But never too busy to tweet.
We document what your representative does. You decide what it means.
Next week: Emmer campaigned on affordability. Then ICE enforcement disrupted schools, businesses, and families across his district. We analyze the cost.
Rhetoric vs. Reality #3 drops next Sunday for subscribers.
