CREW’s detailed report argues that President Donald Trump’s second administration, beginning in January 2025, has pursued a coordinated and incremental erosion of democratic norms through corruption, politicization of justice and the military, regulatory retaliation, and suppression or distortion of public information.
Summarization assistance by ChatGPT AI.
Key Takeaways:
- CREW frames Trump’s second term as a deliberate, incremental dismantling of democratic norms.
- The report identifies four key mechanisms: corruption, weaponization of state power, regulatory retaliation, and suppression of transparency.
- High-profile firings, pardons, and executive actions are used to illustrate each category.
- CREW warns of normalization of authoritarian behavior and the importance of documentation and civic vigilance.
- The report draws parallels between U.S. developments and global authoritarian trends.
Article Summary:
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) report, dated October 28, 2025, outlines how President Trump’s return to office has been marked by systematic efforts to weaken American democracy through what the organization calls “salami tactics” – a gradual slicing away of democratic guardrails. The report divides Trump’s actions into four categories: corruption, weaponization of government institutions, regulatory retaliation, and concealment or distortion of legally required information.
In its discussion of corruption, CREW asserts that Trump and his family have blurred the line between public service and private enrichment, pointing to examples such as the acceptance of a $400 million aircraft from Qatar for use as Air Force One and subsequent donation to his presidential library. The firing of ethics officials, the disbanding of anti-corruption and foreign influence task forces, and pardons for numerous convicted politicians and January 6 insurrectionists illustrate what CREW characterizes as a dismantling of accountability structures.
The report’s second category, weaponization of the Department of Justice and the U.S. military, describes actions allegedly taken to target political adversaries, protect allies, and undermine the independence of law enforcement. These include the establishment of a “Weaponization Working Group” to investigate investigations into Trump himself; politically motivated pardons; federal intervention in cities such as Los Angeles, Memphis, and Washington, D.C.; and criminal cases against perceived enemies including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. CREW argues that this pattern represents a dangerous use of state power for personal or political retribution.
The third category, regulatory retaliation, involves the use of federal oversight powers to intimidate or punish institutions. Examples include the suspension of Harvard University’s funding and threats to revoke its tax-exempt status over diversity programs, FCC pressure on media companies such as ABC leading to temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show, and a settlement with Paramount that coincided with favorable regulatory approval. CREW claims that these actions signal the erosion of independent regulatory governance.
The final category, hiding or distorting legally required information, focuses on transparency. CREW cites the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency under Elon Musk, the firing of inspectors general, suppression of climate and economic data, and the closure of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) offices as examples of efforts to obscure public oversight. The report emphasizes that such secrecy undermines citizens’ ability to hold their government accountable.
Throughout the report, CREW documents a timeline of executive actions, firings, lawsuits, and executive orders from January through September 2025 that, taken together, represent what it calls an “authoritarian playbook” at work in the United States. It concludes that tracking and documenting these developments is essential to preserving democratic resilience and preventing normalization of anti-democratic practices.
CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “How President Trump Is Dismantling Our Democracy, One Piece at a Time.” October 28, 2025. www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/how-president-trump-is-dismantling-our-democracy-one-piece-at-a-time/