Washington, March 14 (IANS). Former US New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has warned that the actions of President Donald Trump’s administration are weakening people’s trust in American institutions. He says that politicization of the Justice Department can have a long-term impact on the legal system of the country.
During a conversation on the podcast The Fifth Column, Christie said that the most worrying thing about the current political environment is that it is damaging the basic institutions of the American democratic system.
“The most devastating thing about this administration is what it’s done to the Justice Department. I don’t think anything else comes close to that,” he said.
Christie, a two-time governor of New Jersey, said that if people get the impression that prosecutions are being conducted on political grounds, it could seriously undermine public confidence in the rule of law.
He said, “If people get the impression that a prosecutor’s decisions are dictated by his party rather than facts, then how will that trust be restored?”
According to Christie, it will take a lot of time and political effort to restore the credibility of the Justice Department. He said that if it has to be completely reformed, it may take at least two terms.
The former governor said that the effect of the current environment is also visible in the courts, where judges are no longer accepting the government’s claims as readily as before.
Christie also criticized the internal politics of the Republican Party, saying that many leaders publicly support Trump because they fear political retribution.
“This is less about Trump and more about the fear of Trump. This fear is not personal, but political,” he said.
According to Christie, many Republican leaders fear that if they oppose Trump, they may support another candidate against him in the primary election, which may put their political career in danger.
Despite the criticism, however, Christie said he was not ready to leave the Republican Party yet, even though the party has changed significantly over the years.
He said that now loyalty to Trump instead of principles is becoming the main basis in the party.
It is noteworthy that Christie was also the head of Trump’s presidential transition team in 2016, but later he became one of Trump’s most vocal Republican critics.
–IANS
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