“The Trump years have cast a hard light on many of the ancient flaws in American democracy,” says writer David Frum in a new Atlantic Argument. One of these flaws, Frum argues, is the fact that the 93 U.S.-government attorneys, including the attorney general, are politically appointed. Legal experts have long worried about the potential for abuse in these arrangements.

Just after the midterms, Donald Trump appointed “a scandal-tainted, under-qualified loyalist,” Matthew Whitaker, as acting attorney general. Now, it seems, Trump is poised to take advantage of the dangerous marriage of politics and law enforcement.