President Donald Trump may be the smallest, meanest and most vengeful man to serve in the Oval Office. Every time I think he and his minions could stoop no lower, they surprise me. There is simply no limit to Trump's hunger for vengeance, or the willingness of his minions to do his bidding, no matter how unethical.

The latest is Wednesday's news, first reported by CNN, that the Justice Department has launched an investigation of E. Jean Carroll, the woman who successfully sued Donald Trump for sex abuse and defamation. And won. And won on appeal.

So what does Trump do? Own up to his wrongdoing? Never. Accept the verdict and move on? Not Trump-like. No, when someone does something Donald Trump doesn't like, he sics the Justice Department on them for a pretextual investigation. If that doesn't amount to weaponizing the Justice Department for partisan political purposes, what does?

The "investigation," if you can call it that, reportedly centers on whether Carroll lied in a deposition four years ago when asked whether outside backers were funding her fight against Trump. Carroll later disclosed that billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman helped cover some of her legal expenses through a nonprofit with which she had no direct connection. So what? It doesn't change any of the facts. It is hardly the stuff that the Justice Department could be bothered to investigate. This is not a federal case. It is the latest act of petty vengeance by a man who has no limits to the grudges he keeps or the power he is willing to use to get even.

The reaction to the news of the Carroll investigation prompted outrage, as it should. Gavin Newsom, with his usual taste for understatement, called the president "sick." If this is an illness, it threatens all of us with its inherent corruption and its assault on the rule of law.

Said California's Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff: "First, Trump weaponized the DOJ to target his political enemies. Now, perversely, he's targeting E. Jean Carroll, the woman who credibly and successfully sued him for sexual assault. He's using the power of the DOJ to go after his own victims. It's a vile attack on the rule of law and a disgusting insult to victims everywhere."

This is not just about Donald Trump and E. Jean Carroll. It is, as Sen. Schiff points out, "a disgusting insult to victims everywhere." It is a message to anyone who dares to take on Donald Trump that they will be subject to a criminal investigation. If he would do this to the woman who successfully sued him for sexual abuse, who would he not do it to?

Just for the record, Carroll defeated Trump in two separate civil cases. In 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming Carroll.

A second jury later ordered Trump to pay additional damages for repeated defamatory statements attacking Carroll as a liar. Trump appealed both rulings and lost both times. So what? He is the king.

The Justice Department is not supposed to be doing the dirty work for a president who does not believe in the rule of law. Trump had his day in court — multiple days — and lost. Now he is abusing his power as president to get even.

There were times when the Justice Department would have refused to be dragged into an abyss like this. They would not have done the president's private bidding. Those days are past. So the question is, who is going to stop this? The press is doing its job. So are most of the courts. But that is not enough. Congress, with its oversight role, must investigate and rein in an out-of-control Justice Department.

Susan Estrich is a celebrated feminist legal scholar, the first female president of the Harvard Law Review, and the first woman to run a U.S. presidential campaign. She has written eight books.