Special Counsel’s Report 

Special Prosecutor’s Report

Report of the Special Prosecutor

Donald Trump is returning to the White House vowing to seek retribution. Those in his sights are worried both about him — and his supporters.

Donald Trump returns to the White House promising revenge. Those at his attractions are worried about him and his followers.

President-elect Donald J. Trump has promised to punish adversaries, particularly those involved in his prosecutions and the congressional investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.Credit…Eric Lee/The New York Times

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By Michael S. Schmidt and Glenn Thrush

As Donald J. Trump forcibly returns, the critics, prosecutors, and supposed enemies who tried to hold him accountable and ban him from American politics now face, with abundant trepidation, a president who takes power after having sworn revenge.

Mr. Trump has promised to investigate and punish adversaries, especially those involved in his four prosecutions and the congressional investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Those threats, along with his stated intention to grant clemency to at least some of those who carried out the Jan. 6 assault, have many in Washington and elsewhere on edge, fearing not just government action against them but that the telegraphing of his wishes has created an environment of unpredictable, free-range retribution by his supporters.

Michael Fanone, a former police officer who was one of those attacked by the pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, 2021, has been an outspoken critic of Trump. He said he fears the violence and threats that have already been directed against him and his family, including his mother, will only get worse after Trump returns to power.

“I am very concerned about the prospects of violence and the acts of violence that will continue not only against me but also against members of my family circle,” he said. “What worries me is that people are going to make it so that if they physically attack me or members of my family, Donald Trump will absolve them of their actions, and who’s to say he wouldn’t do that. ”

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