Defense attorneys build mapping tool to track Justice Dept. "weaponization"

Source: CBS News

February 22, 2026 / 8:00 PM EST


In response to a wave of complaints that the Trump administration is weaponizing the Justice Department against political critics, a national group of defense attorneys has launched a tool to track and map where that "weapon" has been deployed.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has posted an interactive tracking tool to enable attorneys and citizens to check for some of the controversial, unusual or unsuccessful attempted prosecutions by the Justice Department in the first year of Trump's second term.

The online tool, which is being supported pro bono by a group of attorneys and legal professionals, includes some of the notable misfires by the Trump Justice Department. The mapping feature shows the rising number of cases in which grand juries rejected the Justice Department's attempts to obtain indictments against Trump administration critics, Democratic public officials or protesters.

The cases featured include the so-called "sandwich thrower" case, in which a Washington, D.C., grand jury rejected an attempt by the Trump administration to criminally indict a man who tossed a sandwich at a federal agent in 2025. The tool is designed to be used and shared by defense attorneys to monitor for controversial cases nationwide and asks them to contribute cases or learn from any examples.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/defense-attorneys-mapping-tool-justice-dept-weaponization/