Reuters investigation reveals Trump administration operating secret 'Weaponization Working Group' targeting political critics

Reuters published an exclusive investigation on October 20, 2025, revealing the existence of a secret interagency "Weaponization Working Group" that had been meeting biweekly since at least April 2025. The group comprised approximately 39 officials drawn from across the federal executive branch, including the White House, the Department of Justice (led by Ed Martin), the FBI, the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Defense Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Federal Communications Commission. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard confirmed the group's existence, describing it as "interagency coordination under President Trump's leadership to deliver accountability."

The group was established pursuant to an executive order signed by Trump on January 20, 2025, his first day back in office, which directed the Attorney General to collaborate with other agencies to investigate the alleged "weaponization of law enforcement" against Trump and his allies. Identified targets discussed at the group's biweekly meetings included former FBI Director James Comey, former chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci, and senior military officers who had implemented COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The coordination across law enforcement, intelligence, tax enforcement, and regulatory agencies represented a systematic effort to direct federal power against perceived political opponents of the administration.

Former officials and legal experts cited by Reuters characterized the group's activities as a structural corruption of agency independence, with law enforcement and intelligence resources deployed in service of political retaliation rather than the public interest. The following day, a coalition of former U.S. officials called on Congress to investigate the working group, warning that coordinating agencies like the IRS and FBI against named political targets eroded the institutional separations designed to prevent government power from being used as a partisan weapon.