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The more Republicans are confronted with evidence that Donald Trump did indeed break the law, the more they say the law isn't all that important anyway. On Meet the Press Sunday, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul downplayed revelations from federal prosecutors that Trump had directed his lawyer to make two hush-money payments in violation of federal campaign finance laws. "It's just like a lot of other things that we've done in Washington," Paul told Chuck Todd, "We've over criminalized campaign finance."
Good point, Rand—federal law is just so punitive these days, holding Trump accountable for violating it is really pretty silly. Seriously, what kind of logic is that?
By Monday, Paul started arguing that campaign finance laws—which are intended to prevent candidates from keeping hidden agendas from the American people—should just be scrapped altogether.
“I don’t think that campaign violations should be criminal," Paul said following a Louisville press conference in support of criminal justice reform. "We make things too criminal,” Paul added, suggesting the legal system can be just as unfair to rich folks as it can be to "poor, disadvantaged citizens."
Utah Sen. Orrin similarly waved off concerns about Trump’s potential felony. "I don’t think he was involved in crimes," Hatch told reporters, "but even then, you know, you can make anything a crime under the current laws."
Absolutely, we should just forget about the law—it's such a drag. Apparently the erstwhile “party of law and order" is now advancing the notion that the nation's laws are so useless they should simply be ignored, especially when they implicate someone like a Republican president.
Next up for the GOP: Of course Trump engaged in a criminal conspiracy to steal the election, who wouldn't to win the presidency? Followed by: So what if Trump’s policy decisions are being dictated by Russian President Vladimir Putin? Quit making everything out to be so criminal.