A handful of Justice Department attempts to build highly politicized criminal cases on weak or untested legal foundations is threatening to undermine public faith in the accountability agenda President Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail.

The unsuccessful attempt by prosecutors this week to secure an indictment against six Democratic lawmakers who appeared in a social media video encouraging military members to defy “illegal” orders was the latest side quest to spawn negative headlines for the Trump DOJ. It followed a backlash to the Justice Department’s subpoena of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, as well as criticism of the inclusion of former CNN anchor Don Lemon in the indictment of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement activists who shut down worship services in a Minnesota church.