House Dems who ripped Trump for jailing opponents threat support indictment

Some House Democrats are hailing a Manhattan grand jury’s decision to slap former President Donald Trump with criminal charges — even though they once ripped him for threatening to lock up political opponents.

“Threatening to jail political opponents is something despots do. This is dangerous and beneath our great country,” griped Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts on Twitter during an October 2016 presidential debate between Trump and former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

At the time, Clinton was enmeshed in an email scandal that Trump took advantage of, with the phrase “lock her up” becoming a common rallying cry at many Trump campaign events.

Clark’s position on the ethics of apparently politically motivated prosecutions shifted 180 degrees when news of Trump’s indictment broke.

“No one is above the law — including a former President of the United States,” she said in a statement posted to Twitter Thursday, adding the process must continue “unimpeded and free from” political interference.


Hillary Clinton was involved in an email scandal while running against Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
Hillary Clinton was involved in an email scandal while running against Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
AFP via Getty Images

“This is not a time for partisanship, but for all Americans to act peacefully and put their faith in the justice system,” she insisted.

Clark and other Democrats’ hypocritical remarks show the “only principle” they actually believe in anymore is “political power,” Donald Trump Jr. told The Post Saturday.

“This isn’t even just about my father — they’re so bloodthirsty that they wouldn’t think twice about weaponizing the law against any Republican who they view as a threat to their radical agenda,” he said. “These people would jail Mother Teresa if it meant more political power for them. 


US Democratic Representative from Massachusetts Katherine Clark.
Dem. Katherine Clark has been vocal since the news of Trump’s indictment.
AFP via Getty Images

Following a years-long investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, the grand jury Thursday indicted the elder Trump over hush-money payments made ahead of the 2016 elections — marking the first-ever criminal case against a former US president.


Follow The Post’s latest coverage on Trump’s indictment


And now Democrats are trying to capitalize on the indictment against the leading Republican presidential candidate for 2024 — no matter what they’ve said about the judicial process in the past.

In August 2018, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) shared a quote from a New York Times article on Twitter insisting Trump would turn “authoritarian” if Republicans were able to win that year’s midterm elections.


Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill.
Rep. Sean Casten tweeted “Boom” following Trump’s indictment.
CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Casten spoke out against Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for opposing the indictment of Trump.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The quote said he’d accomplish this by “abusing institutions like the I.R.S., trying to jail opponents and journalists… and he’ll do it with full support from his party,” according to Fox News.

However, following the Trump indictment, Pelosi joined the other House Dems-turned-hypocrites, tweeting that “no one is above the law” and that Trump would have to “prove” his innocence in court.

Her failure to recognize that Trump is granted the presumption of innocence, one of the most basic requirements of a fair trial and an internationally recognized human right by the United Nations, sparked plenty of criticism on the social media platform.

Rep. Sean Casten, an Illinois Democrat, also shared the same Times article in August 2018. Casten recently attacked Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for opposing the indictment of Trump, arguing on Twitter that McCarthy should “treat [his] job with the dignity it deserves” and later insisting McCarthy “know[s] nothing about the charges.”


A picture of Donald Trump.
A Manhattan grand jury Thursday indicted Donald Trump over “hush-money” payments made ahead of the 2016 elections.
Getty Images

But following the Trump indictment, Casten sent out a one-word reaction on Twitter: “Boom.”

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis called out the hypocrisy on Twitter Saturday.

“On April Fools Day, the Democrats who brought us BAIL REFORM & DEFUND THE POLICE are screaming ‘No One Is Above The Law’ But ONLY to target Trump NOT the 1100+ felonies Bragg DECLINED to prosecute or the hundreds of “summer of love” looters & rioters with DROPPED charges,” the Staten Island Republican said.

source: nypost.com