Bottom Line Up Front:
Republicans scream “lawfare” when the DOJ targets Trump, then cheer when FBI agents raid John Bolton’s home at 7 a.m. with boxes of classified documents. Democrats prosecute Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro for contempt, then cry foul when Trump promises retribution. Both parties weaponize the rule of law against opponents while claiming to defend it – the same hypocrisy that’s defined American justice for 150 years.
The tax code reveals the quieter lawfare: corporations pay 10.5% on offshore profits while small businesses pay 21% domestically. From FBI raids to IRS rules, both parties use law as a weapon, then act shocked when the weapon turns on them. The rule of law isn’t broken – it’s working exactly as designed, just not for you.
The Bolton Raid: When MAGA Cheers for Lawfare
Three days ago, August 22, 2025, FBI agents raided John Bolton’s Bethesda home at 7 a.m., seizing boxes of documents in a classified materials investigation. The same MAGA world that called the Mar-a-Lago raid “weaponization” suddenly forgot their outrage.
FBI Director Kash Patel tweeted “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission” while agents were still carrying boxes from Bolton’s office. Deputy Director Dan Bongino added, “Public corruption will not be tolerated.” Attorney General Pam Bondi chimed in: “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.”
The Hypocrisy Is Breathtaking
This is the same Bolton whose 2020 memoir faced Trump-era lawsuits to block publication on security grounds – classic lawfare. The Biden administration dropped the case in 2021, calling it vindication. Now Trump’s second administration revives it, and conservative voices justify it as accountability.
MSNBC portrayed Bolton as a victim of Trump’s vendetta. Meanwhile, Republican Congressman James Comer told Fox News: “I don’t think this is retribution, I think this is accountability.” The same people who called identical tactics against Trump “banana republic justice” now applaud when it targets a Trump critic.
Trump himself played coy, telling reporters: “I could know about it. I could be the one starting it. I’m actually the chief law enforcement officer. But I feel that it’s better this way.” Translation: I ordered it but want deniability.
Democrats’ Contempt Game: Bannon and Navarro
While Republicans weaponize the DOJ against Bolton, let’s not pretend Democrats are innocent victims. They pioneered the modern contempt prosecution playbook with Trump allies.
Steve Bannon’s Journey to Prison
Bannon was convicted in July 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing January 6 committee subpoenas. His defense? Trump invoked executive privilege. The problem? Trump never formally communicated that to the committee or provided Bannon a letter saying so.
Bannon got four months in prison. He reported to federal prison on July 1, 2024, after exhausting appeals. The prosecutor’s closing argument revealed the game: “The defendant chose allegiance to Donald Trump over compliance to the law.”
Peter Navarro’s Prison Reality
Navarro went to federal prison in Miami on March 19, 2024, making history as the first former White House official imprisoned for contempt of Congress. Like Bannon, he claimed Trump invoked executive privilege. Like Bannon, he had no proof.
Judge Amit Mehta didn’t mince words at sentencing: “Dr. Navarro, you are not a victim. You are not the object of a political prosecution.” Navarro got four months, served 90 days with good behavior, all for refusing to testify about his “Green Bay Sweep” plan to overturn the 2020 election.
The Selective Prosecution Problem
Here’s what Democrats don’t want you to notice: They declined to prosecute Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino for the same contempt charges. Why? Both had letters from Trump’s lawyer directing them not to comply. The law apparently depends on paperwork, not principle.
Trump’s Retribution List: Lawfare as Campaign Promise
Trump doesn’t hide his lawfare intentions. NPR documented over 100 opponents and institutions Trump has targeted for prosecution, including 2020 election officials he’s marked for imprisonment.
This isn’t empty rhetoric. Trump told supporters: “I am your retribution.” He’s promised to appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” Biden and his family. He’s vowed to investigate prosecutors who investigated him. The cycle of lawfare continues, with each side claiming victimhood while planning revenge.
The Tax Code: Corporate Rule of Law vs Small Business Lawfare
While politicians trade criminal prosecutions, the tax code runs a quieter form of lawfare that both parties maintain. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created a system where rule of law means different rules for different players.
The Numbers Tell the Story
Under the TCJA, domestic corporate profits face a 21% tax rate. But offshore profits? They get the GILTI rate of just 10.5% – half the domestic rate. Even better, profits up to 10% of offshore tangible assets pay zero percent. Zero.
Small businesses can’t play these games. They don’t have Cayman Islands subsidiaries or Irish inversions. They pay the full 21% on every dollar earned, while multinationals shift profits to tax havens and pay nothing.
Both Parties Protect the Loopholes
Republicans passed these rules claiming they’d bring jobs home. Instead, University of Pennsylvania research found that dividend payments from foreign subsidiaries to U.S. parents actually fell after the law passed. The share of profits in tax havens stayed constant.
Democrats denounce these loopholes but don’t close them when in power. The No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act has over 100 House sponsors but goes nowhere. Both parties serve the same corporate donors who benefit from economic lawfare against small competitors.
The Global Pattern of Democratic Decay
America isn’t unique. Hungary’s Viktor Orbán uses law to crush opposition media. India’s Modi prosecutes political opponents on corruption charges. Turkey’s Erdoğan jails journalists under anti-terror laws. The playbook is universal: use legitimate legal processes for illegitimate political ends, all while claiming to defend rule of law.
The difference between justice and persecution becomes who’s holding the gavel. Today’s prosecutor becomes tomorrow’s defendant. Yesterday’s “lock her up” becomes today’s “witch hunt.” The weapons just change hands.
Modern Parallels to Ancient Patterns
This brings us full circle to Part 1’s ancient examples. Like Hammurabi’s different penalties for different classes, our tax code punishes small businesses while rewarding multinationals. Like medieval France using law to destroy rivals, we use FBI raids and congressional contempt. Like the Chinese Exclusion Act and Nixon’s drug war from Part 2, we selectively enforce laws based on political allegiance.
The tools evolved but the game remains the same: those in power use law as a weapon, then cry victim when power shifts.
Outro
From Hammurabi to Trump, from ancient codes to modern tax loopholes, the partnership between rule of law and lawfare remains unbroken. Republicans denounce lawfare against Trump while cheering Bolton’s 7 a.m. raid. Democrats decry weaponization while Bannon and Navarro sit in federal prison. Both parties protect tax code lawfare that crushes small businesses while multinationals pay nothing on offshore profits.
As we’ve seen across this series – from ancient civilizations’ class-based justice to America’s ethnic targeting through drug laws – those in power have always used law as a weapon. The only difference today is that both parties have gotten so good at it, they’ve forgotten how to do anything else.
Many Americans still can’t see the connection between cheering when lawfare targets enemies and crying when it targets allies. As The New Neo’s Bolton post inadvertently shows, even those who claim to oppose weaponization celebrate it when aimed at their opponents.
The rule of law isn’t broken in America. It’s working exactly as intended – as a tool for those in power to maintain control. Until we acknowledge that lawfare isn’t a bug but a feature of our system, we’re doomed to repeat this cycle: outrage when we’re targeted, celebration when our enemies are crushed, and blindness to the fact that we’re all participants in the same corrupt game.