One of the key Republican talking points about expected criminal charges against Donald Trump is that this is “an outrageous abuse of power” and “unAmerican.” Loyalists say the only reason Trump could be indicted is sheer political vengeance—and that to do that would violate the impartial rule of law. The only answer, to Republicans, is for Trump to be allowed to break laws without consequences, because consequences for his actions must be inherently political and an abuse of power.
They’re leaning hard on that “un-American” thing, too—Rep. Elise Stefanik’s word choice. Stefanik further said, “Knowing they cannot beat President Trump at the ballot box, the Radical Left will now follow the lead of Socialist dictators and reportedly arrest President Trump.” (As a side note, since when can Trump not be beaten at the ballot box?) Rep. Andy Biggs tweeted, “If they can come for Trump, they will come for you. This type of stuff only occurs in third world authoritarian nations.”
All of this is false. In many non-socialist, non-authoritarian, developed peer nations of the United States, it is routine for political leaders to be investigated and prosecuted when they do or appear to have done crimes.
RELATED STORY: Republicans are outraged that Donald Trump isn't above the law
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The Washington Post’s Philip Bump has assembled a list of national political figures who have been investigated, indicted, or convicted of crimes. Their countries include France, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, and Israel. A former German president was tried and cleared. Spanish and Austrian leaders stepped down during corruption investigations.
In France, both a former president and a former prime minister have been sentenced to prison for corruption. In Italy, the list of things for which former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been charged is too long to get into, with some resulting in convictions and some in acquittals.
Democracies do this. They hold leaders and former leaders accountable for their actions. Republicans are all for that when it comes to Democrats, to an extreme extent—shoot, many of them still think Hillary Clinton should be prosecuted for things the Justice Department has concluded did not merit prosecution, and the drive to prosecute the current president’s son is like 90% of the House GOP’s reason for being right now. But Donald Trump? To Republicans, any investigation or prosecution of Trump can only ever be persecution. And that is partisan.
Republicans are now using their political power in the House to threaten the Manhattan district attorney believed to be poised to indict Trump. In Georgia, where Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is also believed to be poised to indict Trump on charges relating to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, Republicans are pushing to make it easier to remove district attorneys. This is overt political interference in prosecutions.
It’s true that authoritarian leaders do prosecute political opponents on flimsy or false grounds, but authoritarian leaders also protect themselves and their own from consequences for corruption or crime. Saying that someone is above the law because they were once the president is absolutely the kind of thing you expect in authoritarian regimes. The fact that Republicans are brazen in their insistence on both things at once—“lock her up” and using Hunter Biden’s name as a shorthand for unidentified corruption on the one hand, and outrage at Trump being methodically investigated by prosecutors on the other—is telling, frankly.
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