'Not the president's consigliere': Obama slams Trump over DOJ directives
Source: USA Today
Updated May 6, 2026, 4:56 p.m. ET
Former President Barack Obama called out President Donald Trump for directing the Department of Justice to prosecute his political opponents and critics, saying the attorney general, who leads the DOJ, isn't the president's "consigliere."
Obama made the comments in an interview that aired on May 5 with Stephen Colbert, who hosts CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.". "The White House shouldn't be able to direct the attorney general to go around prosecuting whoever," Obama said when asked about what powers he believes presidents should not have.
"The idea is that the attorney general is the people's lawyer. It's not the president's consigliere," he added. "Consigliere" is a term for an adviser or counselor to the leader of a criminal organization, such as a Mafia family. Obama said at this point that principle "probably" needs to be codified, or committed to law by Congress.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement to USA TODAY that "Barack Hussein Obama is the king of weaponization and documents declassified last year revealed he was present for key meetings that led to critical steps in the opening of the Russia Hoax investigation against President Trump."
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/05/06/obama-decries-trump-colbert-interview/89961790007/
What a coherent "grown-up" response!
