FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 5th, 2023
Washington D.C. — House GOP Chairwoman Elise Stefanik published an op-ed in Newsweek about the corrupt political weaponization of our federal government against Joe Biden’s leading political opponent, President Donald Trump.
Read Elise’s op-ed in Newsweek here or below.
Stefanik in Newsweek: The Democrats Are Using Lawfare Against Trump Because They Can’t Beat Him Fairly
Dec. 5, 2023, 10:42AM EST
By Rep. Elise Stefanik
Less than one year away from the 2024 presidential election, poll after poll shows President Joe Biden‘s chances of reelection diminishing. The panicked response of Democrats has ranged from anonymously leaking statements imploring President Biden not to run again to head-in-the-sand denials about his chances of winning. But by far the most dangerous and un-American tool in the Left’s political arsenal is their unprecedented lawfare targeting Joe Biden’s leading political opponent: President Donald J. Trump.
The Left has chosen lawfare because winning in the marketplace of ideas at the ballot box clearly isn’t suitable for today’s Democratic Party, which seems to support limitless illegal immigration, inflationary tax and spend policies, and the unconstitutional silencing of opposing voices.
The egregious and norm-shattering lawfare weaponized by the Left against President Trump is unprecedented. Just over the last year, the FBI raided Trump’s main residence. He has faced indictments in two separate federal jurisdictions from the Biden administration and received indictments in two local jurisdictions from Democrat District Attorneys. Additionally, the Democrat New York Attorney General, who specifically campaigned with a focus on targeting Trump, filed a civil lawsuit against him.
Democrats have opened up a dangerous Pandora’s box by breaking legal and political norms to try to imprison President Biden’s chief political rival for 2024. It is irreparably harmful to the fabric of America to normalize the reigning political party using its power to lock up its main challenger.
And make no mistake about it: It’s no surprise that the culmination of this legal assault comes amid nonstop polling showing that Americans are angry with Joe Biden’s poor performance and supportive of a second Trump administration.
If we continue going down this road, there’s no going back. The American people fundamentally understands that if the Left can shred constitutional protections and weaponize the government to illegally target President Trump, what can and will they do to the average American? Just ask Catholics, conservatives, and parents at school board meetings.
And a closer look at the legal tactics employed by the Democrats shows just how sinister of a threat this is to America’s rule of law. In New York, President Trump is facing a two-pronged attack. Soros-funded Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg issued the original indictment in a case so absurd that even the Washington Post’s liberal editorial board called it a “shaky” case. At the same time, New York’s Democrat Attorney General Letitia James teamed up with Democrat Judge Arthur Engoron to try to put the Trump Organization out of business. Recall that James campaigned on targeting Trump. She said that going after him was her primary motivation to run for office and that she’s got her “eyes on Trump Tower.”
Attorney General James’ case doesn’t even have a victim. President Trump repaid the loans to the banks in full and on time. The “crime” in question is that President Trump is leading Joe Biden in the polls.
Fortunately for James, the judge assigned to the case, Arthur Engoron, consistently displays exceptional bias against President Trump. I filed a complaint to the state’s judicial committee noting that Engoron has broken several rules in the New York Code of Judicial Conduct. Engoron decreed Trump somehow committed fraud, even before the trial began. And his clerk, Allison Greenfield, has donated thousands of dollars to Democratic organizations, which is barred conduct.
President Trump is also dealing with Democrat Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis‘ bogus racketeering case in Georgia. Like James, Willis used targeting Trump to further her political career. Willis launched her reelection fundraising efforts just days before her office announced its indictment of President Trump.
Meanwhile, as these local cases are ongoing, Jack Smith is again abusing Justice Department resources to target President Trump. Smith first indicted President Trump over documents Trump had the right to possess under the Presidential Records Act. Then, Smith indicted him for the Jan. 6 riot in a case that attempts to criminalize the First Amendment.
Candidates are allowed to challenge elections. According to Jack Smith’s standard, every one of the numerous Democrats who spoke out against or voted against certifying Republican victories in 1968, 2000, 2004, or 2016, many of whom still serve in elected office today, should face indictment.
Smith clearly has a problem with the First Amendment. He has teamed up with highly partisan D.C. Obama Judge Tanya Chutkan to place unconstitutional gag orders on President Trump to stop his criticism of Joe Biden and Jack Smith. His motion requesting a gag order singled out a Truth Social post from President Trump that stated, “Joe Biden directed his Attorney General to prosecute his rival. This is not an independent Justice Department, this is not an independent special counsel. This is being directed by the Commander-in-Chief.”
For starters, President Trump was quoting someone in the post. Moreover, what President Trump said is the truth, and Smith wants Trump to be barred from saying it.
The Jan. 6 case from Smith is also dangerous because it serves as the basis for ludicrous lawsuits from activists trying to use a convoluted legal theory to remove President Trump from the 2024 ballot. Fortunately, these 14th Amendment cases continue to fail before the courts.
All of these actions amount to an unprecedented attack on an American politician. Major local jurisdictions, state governments, and the federal government have all unified to expend resources to try to defeat the leading opposition candidate. The United States routinely sanctions foreign countries for these sorts of actions.
This lawfare only stops when Americans hold their government officials accountable for their actions through voting, which is always the most valuable tool in defending democracy.
Republicans challenging President Trump for the nomination need to prioritize the nation over personal political ambitions and drop out of the presidential race to consolidate support behind Trump. The Democrats’ radical lawfare is much more effective against a fractured party, and it’s shameful some Republicans seem to be counting on the weaponized legal system to knock Trump out of the primary.
The situation is urgent. The Democrats are a party of projection. They’ve long assailed President Trump for “breaking norms,” but they are the party that’s inspired by the Soviet Union’s legal system.
This unprecedented lawfare against President Trump cannot continue. The American people are the guardians of democracy, which is why, in 2024, the American people must and will elect President Trump back to the White House.
