Chapter 17. Department of Justice

Key Points

• Replace career civil servants with a “vast expansion” of political appointees
• Overturn the current “politicization and weaponization” of the DOJ
• Enact complete review of FBI
• Denial of Russian election interference and the constant flow of misinformation
• Secure the border and rigorously enforce all immigration laws
• Aid the Department of Homeland Security in pursuing criminal aliens
• Ban all DEI initiatives as “racist”
• Prosecute voter fraud (transfer this responsibility to the criminal division)
• Halt investigations of any group engaging in lawful and, in many cases, constitutionally protected activity

STC 2025 Commentary

The entire Mandate for Leadership document judges the same behavior by a double standard for left and right, but Chapter 17 takes this rhetorical gaslighting to new heights.

While the right calls for book-banning and suppressing any curriculum that discusses the evils of slavery, Chapter 17 argues that it is actually the FBI that polices speech. Yet this chapter self-righteously calls for an end to censorship: “The First Amendment prohibits it. The United States is the world’s last best hope for self-government, and its survival relies on the ability of our people to have healthy debate free from government intervention and censorship.”

The same kind of double standard condemns what Hamilton calls the “politicization” of the DOJ — but plans to combat this by a vast expansion in the cadre of political appointees whose goal is to carry out the Mandate for Leadership. Hamilton accuses the Biden administration of “brazenly partisan and ideologically driven prosecution of an Administration’s perceived political enemies,” while simultaneously laying out plans to launch a thorough course of revenge if a conservative president is elected. The double standard preserves religious freedom for those who oppose abortion, but not for those who support it. They cite the constitution, but apply it differently: “It is black letter law that no official ‘can prescribe what shall be orthodox…or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.’”

Full Summary

Chapter 17 outlines the purview of the DOJ: “Properly understood within the framework of a constitutional republic that values ordered liberty, the Department of Justice has two primary functions: protecting public safety and defending the rule of law.”

Hamilton argues that this role has been perverted under Democratic presidents: “Large swaths of the department have been captured by an unaccountable bureaucratic managerial class and radical Left ideologues who have embedded themselves throughout its offices and components.”

In his plan for reform, he focuses first on the FBI, which he believes knowingly spread false claims on Russian interference in the 2016 election; misled the public about Hunter Biden’s laptop; and monitored social media for misinformation while censoring true information about the 2020 election. The DOJ as a whole, he argues, has focused more on prosecuting anti- abortionists while ignoring leftist crimes such as those committed by Antifa; abdicated its obligation to stop the flow of drugs (especially fentanyl) into the US; and abdicated its responsibility to uphold immigration laws. The current actions of the DOJ under Merrick Garland are, he argues, a “threat to the Republic.” He calls for reforms to overturn the current “politicization and weaponization” of the DOJ.

Hamilton proposes what he calls a return to law and order, noting that “Ordered liberty is at risk when our citizens lack physical safety, when career criminals do not fear the law, when foreign cartels move narcotics and illegal aliens into our nation at will, and when political leaders call citizens ‘domestic terrorists’ for exercising their constitutional rights.”

Hamilton also calls for obtaining “finality” for 44 federal death row cases – a coded word for execution — and pursuing the death penalty for violence and sexual abuse of children, too.

Proposed reforms:

• Replace career civil servants with a “vast expansion” of political appointees (“It is essential that the next conservative Administration place a high priority on reforming the DOJ and its culture to align the department with its core purposes and advance the national interest.”)
• Enact a complete review of the FBI (laid out in detail)
• Secure the border and rigorously enforce all immigration laws
• Aid the Department of Homeland Security in pursuing criminal aliens
• Interdict the flow of fentanyl from China through Mexico
• Align all litigation decisions to make them consistent with the president’s agenda
• Enforce laws against using the postal service to distribute abortion pills
• Prosecute voter fraud (transfer this responsibility to the criminal division)
• Halt investigations of any group engaging in lawful and, in many cases, constitutionally protected activity
• Execute all 44 remaining prisoners on federal death row and pursue the death penalty for violence and sexual abuse of children The DOJ is also responsible for guarding constitutional protections. Hamilton cites an egregious example of the current DOJ’s failure to do this: 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, in which, as he describes it, the DOJ argued that a Christian website designer could be compelled to serve a same-sex couple, but could not compel an LGBTQ+ designer to serve an opposite sex couple.

The DOJ is also tasked with enforcing Federal Civil Rights Laws in Government, Education, and the Private Sector. Hamilton argues that the DOJ currently practices “affirmative discrimination in all aspects of its operations under the guise of ‘equity.’” As Hamilton outlines it, the conservative position is that the US is a colorblind nation, and attempts to deny this by unfairly applying DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives amount to discrimination.

Finally, the DOJ must pursue aggressive enforcement of all immigration laws.