Thursday, during an appearance on FBN’s “Mornings with Maria,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) was asked to respond to a perceived double standard pertaining to former President Donald Trump and the charges he was facing in New York City for alleged campaign finance violations.
The Arkansas Republican asked why Trump’s 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton did not face similar charges for her campaign falsifying records related to the Steele Dossier.
“[L]et’s talk about this two systems of justice. No comment whatsoever from the White House on the influence peddling that’s in plain sight, and yet former President Trump was indicted, arrested. He has pled not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records Tuesday in New York City,” host Maria Bartiromo said. “You’ve said this indictment should be dismissed immediately. Tell us more.”
“Well, Maria, it’s unprecedented in American history that the party in power would target a former President with criminal charges. Such a step should not be taken lightly. But Alvin Bragg’s indictment of Donald Trump is a joke,” Cotton replied. “First off, all the so-called crimes appear to be beyond the five-year statute of limitations. Second, if you look at it as a matter of law, Alvin Bragg didn’t even allege an underlying felony which is necessary. I guess everybody says it’s a federal election crime, but the Federal Election Commission didn’t even pursue it, much less Alvin Bragg’s predecessor, the Department of Justice.”
“Third, consider the evidence here for this so-called crime,” he added. “You have a woman who has contradicted herself multiple times about these facts, and you have a man who wasn’t just convicted of a felony, he was convicted of lying under oath, not exactly strong evidence in a court of law. And while you pointed out the two systems of justice, I would note that Hillary Clinton’s campaign was fined over $100,000 for falsifying records for the Steele dossier. And where was that campaign based? It was in New York City, Maria. So, where are the criminal charges against Hillary Clinton and her campaign?”
“That’s a great point,” Bartiromo replied. “So, she pays for the dossier. She comes up with all these lies against Trump. Isn’t that election interference right there? It was that campaign money.”
“Yes, but surprisingly, there is no charges against Hillary Clinton,” Cotton said. “Even though she has confessed that they falsified their campaign reports, they characterized as legal expenses, what was really dirty opposition research that produced the fake Steele dossier to try to swing the 2016 election. That’s just one reason or one example of how this is a political witch hunt. Another one is that you’re going to have another hearing until December, Maria. I mean, it’s early April, and this is a relatively straightforward, factually simple case. I think this is primarily about pushing these proceedings into our nominating season, then ultimately into the general election.”
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