Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska is one of a growing number of lawmakers in Donald Trump’s own party who have criticized Trump’s attempts at suppressing justice. On Labor day, Sasse compared Trump’s governing style to that of a banana republic. In short, Two Republican Congressmen have been indicted by the Department of Justice for federal crimes, and what Donald Trump has shown he cares most about is losing the Republican seats in the November election. Ben Sasse’s response was to Trump’s tweet attacking the Department of Justice:
“Two long running, Obama era, investigations of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department. Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff……” Tweeted Trump.
Republican congressman Chris Collins of New York was the first congressman to endorse Donald Trump in the 2016 election. He has been charged with securities fraud and insider trading. Collins maintains that the charges were politically motivated.
Duncan Hunter (R-CA), and his wife, Margaret Hunter, were charged with misuse of campaign funds and falsifying records to the Federal Election Commission in order to cover up the use of the funds. Hunter is accused of using $250,000 in campaign funds to pay for school tuition for his children, dental work for his family, international vacations for family members, and a number of other personal luxuries.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will be pursuing the charges against both Collins and Hunter. This has added fuel to Donald Trump’s existing ire toward Sessions, with Trump criticizing Sessions for not taking into account the political ramifications of charging two Republican congressmen as the country approaches the November elections.
Ben Sasse responded to Trump’s criticism of the situation in this statement: “The United States is not some banana republic with a two-tiered system of justice – one for the majority party and one for the minority party.
“These two men have been charged with crimes because of evidence, not because of who the President was when the investigations began…Instead of commenting on ongoing investigations and prosecutions, the job of the President of the United States is to defend the Constitution and protect the impartial administration of justice.”
In Trump’s America, however, it is normal to play favorites; reward those who support your agenda, even if they’re accused of criminal acts; and undermine public faith in those who criticize or disagree with you. This is not unlike the dynamics of a banana republic, as Ben Sass has pointed out.
Trump slams Sessions over indictments of GOP lawmakers | CNN [2019-09-03]
Judge Jeanine: Jeff Sessions needs to do one of two things | Fox News [2018-09-01]