Wendy Long: Government 'Targeting' Dinesh D'Souza

Dinesh D’Souza’s plea deal on charges he broke campaign finance laws to help Republican Wendy Long’s 2012 U.S. Senate run reduces potential jail time and will keep his next film project on schedule.

That doesn’t diminish the fact that the government essentially targeted the popular conservative for his political views, according to Long.

Long told Breitbart News she was “heartbroken” about the situation.

“Dinesh has always been completely generous with everyone he meets. There was never a time when he was trying to do anything but help me personally, support my U.S. Senate campaign, and advance the ideals of freedom that we share. The statute that the government has used to target him is unconstitutional. When our government criminalizes the very free speech that the First Amendment was written to protect, sends people to prison for simply exercising their constitutional rights, and when government power is wielded like weapon against political enemies, we are all in trouble. There is no corruption here, and this entire episode is a shameful government overreach and a violation of the U.S. Constitution.”

D’Souza, whose 2016: Obama’s America became the second highest grossing political documentary of all time, struck a deal that stopped a campaign finance law trial that was supposed to begin this week.

… instead he pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of making illegal campaign contributions, which carries a maximum two-year sentence. He’s expected to be sentenced in about four months.

That means more serious charges against him, that he made false statements to the Federal Election Commission, won’t be pursued. That could have cost him up to five years in jail alone.

D’Souza’s supporters, including Sen. Ted Cruz, agreed with Long that the prosecution was part of an effort to silence right-of-center voices.

Obama’s America chronicled President Barack Obama’s formative years and personal influences from a conservative perspective. The upcoming America, which will feature voices from both sides of the ideological aisle, explores the founding of this nation while defending it against charges routinely made by progressive critics. The film hits theaters July 4.