Trump thinks winning elections is more important than punishing crime. He really doesn’t understand that the Attorney General is loyal to the law, not to him and his party.
The President of the United States criticizing his own Attorney General for obtaining felony indictments against two sitting Republican congressmen—not because the charges aren’t serious or thoroughly substantiated, but because of the potential _electoral_ ramifications.
Yuck… https://t.co/K2x0RSCGEj
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) September 3, 2018
The implication being that Justice Dept officials should have delayed or thrown out charges for political reasons, because of the midterms. Notice he does not weigh in on the charges themselves, which are in each case based on long lists of serious allegations. https://t.co/NrsbUi4fut
— Sarah Westwood (@sarahcwestwood) September 3, 2018
The president is now arguing that the Justice Department should make its justice decisions based on what’s best for the Republican Party. pic.twitter.com/RgcUQbRAak
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 3, 2018
The President believes it’s the Attorney General’s job to cover up crimes that are committed by elected Republicans. https://t.co/AeqV9EQAqZ
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) September 3, 2018
Authoritarian despots are able to dictate who gets prosecuted and who does not based on political calculations. President Trump is signaling that’s precisely how he wants to run the Department of Justice. This isn’t a drill. It’s an attack on our basic democratic institutions. https://t.co/i8HpCpDjm0
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) September 3, 2018
The president complains that the first two congressmen to endorse him were indicted by the third. https://t.co/I2mKiUWapB
— Eric Columbus (@EricColumbus) September 3, 2018
This is the most insightful official statement yet on the current approach to the justice system: Cry foul about politics infecting DOJ and then ponder aloud why DOJ isn’t considering the political ramifications of prosecutorial decisions. https://t.co/PyKvin2b3Y
— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) September 3, 2018
Perhaps the leaders and the Judiciary Committee chairs in both Houses should say something to make clear that Trump speaks only for himself and not for the Republican Party? https://t.co/gRuXdEuKBa
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) September 3, 2018
Dear @realDonaldTrump: No one is above the law. Not you, not your associates, and not Members of Congress. That's one reason America is great. https://t.co/P68706QU44
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) September 3, 2018
There’s been a lot of Twitter invective directed against Bush and some against Obama, but here’s what I’ll say for them: the idea of them acting like this never would have occurred to me. https://t.co/EnR0oJQXIx
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) September 3, 2018
This makes no sense. Collins’s insider-trading allegation is from 2017, when he was at *Trump’s* White House event. https://t.co/8KhOO3daKX
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) September 3, 2018
POTUS lays it on the line again: the job of the Justice Department in his view is to protect his friends and punish his enemies. https://t.co/MUH9McUoZe
— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) September 3, 2018
When Trump says something like this it is quite apparent that we are already past the rule of law. https://t.co/p97sXra7ML
— John Markoff (@markoff) September 3, 2018
It is not hard to see Trump's argument here – people accused of breaking the law should not get in legal trouble if such trouble would hurt the Republicans – eventually being applied to himself.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 3, 2018
This is in keeping with what he frequently tells people privately. He alleges Holder “protected” Obama. https://t.co/3FM75Mc4kr
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) September 3, 2018
Law and Order President, my ass. https://t.co/kAxYMvG0B1
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) September 3, 2018
LABOR DAY TWEETS: Trump attacks AG Jeff Sessions for indicting two Republicans for corruption, saying it could hurt Trump and the GOP. My story: https://t.co/bZhyGwMk0q
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) September 3, 2018
In saner times pressuring the attorney general to quash criminal investigations of political allies might have been considered an impeachable offense. How many GOP elected officials will raise an objection to this? https://t.co/RWf8rI1pij
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) September 3, 2018
The "Obama era" reference in Trump's tweets about Collins' and Hunter's indictments is bizarre. The Collins indictment, from actions taken in summer 2017, was brought by Trump's own handpicked US atty from Manhattan.
— Paul Kane (@pkcapitol) September 3, 2018
Sad! 