The move marked Trump’s clearest exertion yet of personal control over the country’s federal law enforcement apparatus.

President Donald Trump rehashed a litany of long-held grievances before an unusual crowd on Friday, telling officials at the Department of Justice that he had been persecuted, abused and attacked by his perceived political opponents in a meandering speech that went on for more than an hour.

The president revived a number of falsehoods he had used on the campaign trail last year, including his lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him.