Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) pulled no punches when he implored liberal defenders of civil liberties to attack the weaponization of law enforcement for political purposes.
After all, the next time it may not be a Republican who is unfairly targeted for persecution. It may be one of their own.
Scott, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the “hunt” for the former president is hardly a fair display of justice. “They have hunted Donald Trump and his family for years and years and years,” he said.
Addressing “Just the News, Not Noise,” the representative declared that “whether you like him or not, the government does not have the right to hunt Donald Trump…to hunt his family.” He added that the U.S. should be different from other countries in this aspect.
Scott took particular note of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) outrageous comment on the unprecedented indictment.
This tweet—and the indictment it’s praising—is a mockery of our justice system.
Pelosi says Trump has a “right” to “prove [his] innocence.”
That’s exactly BACKWARDS: Under our Constitution, you’re innocent until proven guilty.
The indictment is frivolous & an abuse of power. pic.twitter.com/E6qkCO0SrN
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 31, 2023
The California Democrat shrugged off concerns over the 45th president’s civil liberties, saying merely that “he can go prove his innocence.” That, Scott said, exemplifies the difference between America and many other countries in that U.S. citizens do not have to prove they are innocent.
Instead, the Constitution stipulates that the government must prove the defendant’s guilt. This backward approach by the former speaker is, according to the Georgia Republican, a perversion of justice.
Harmeet Dhillon, a former Trump campaign legal adviser, agreed. She posted that “we don’t have to prove our innocence in America, Mrs. Pelosi.” Conservative talk show host Mark Levin was not nearly so generous.
Instead, he railed against Pelosi for being a “Stalinist.” “Prove innocent? It’s innocent until proven guilty, moron. Or at least it used to be.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) echoed Levin’s sentiments, tweeting, “The right to ‘prove innocence’? This is America, not Stalinist Russia.” Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) concurred, declaring, “welcome to Biden and Pelosi’s warped America.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Scott is correct in urging Democrats to see the light when it comes to protecting constitutional liberties. The arrows aimed at Trump today may be pointed in their direction tomorrow, and erasing legal protections for political expediency hurts everyone.
