Bowling Green Today

U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) led 28 Senate Republicans in sending a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, condemning the conviction of former President Donald Trump in Manhattan and criticizing what they describe as the erosion of the American judicial process.

The letter states: “The conviction of President Trump in Manhattan is nothing short of the evisceration of the American judicial process. In their zeal to imprison Donald Trump, Democrat prosecutors successfully dissolved the constitutional protections afforded to defendants and the barriers that protect every American from the abuses of arbitrary rule.”

Senator Paul and his colleagues argue that due process rights, guaranteed by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as the Sixth Amendment right to be informed of accusations, were compromised. They assert that Judge Juan Merchan's financial contributions to Democratic candidates raise concerns about impartiality and criticize prosecutors for allegedly converting misdemeanors into felonies without clear justification.

“Due process cannot exist when the defendant is accused of a secret crime. No American – not even a President – can defend himself fairly in a court of law if he is deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to know what crime he is alleged to have committed,” the letter continues.

The senators also accuse the Biden Administration of being complicit in undermining due process, suggesting that potential Federal Election Campaign Act violations fall outside state jurisdiction but were pursued against Trump nonetheless.

“We condemn this show trial, not just because it marks the attempt to imprison a leader of the loyal opposition, but because it threatens the existence of due process of law, without which a constitutional republic dedicated to the protection of individual liberty is not possible,” concludes the letter.

Senator Paul was joined by U.S. Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Rick Scott (R-FL), Roger Marshall (R-KS), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tim Scott (R-SC), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Marco Rubio (R-FL), James Lankford (R-OK), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), JD Vance (R-OH), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ted Budd (R-NC), John Thune (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Katie Britt (R-AL), Mike Braun (R-IN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Hoeven (R-ND) Deb Fischer(R-NE) ,and Josh Hawley(R-MO).