Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) appeared to invert the U.S. justice system in a statement Thursday as she was reacting to news that a Manhattan grand jury had voted to indict former President Donald Trump.
Pelosi, the former House speaker, placed the burden of proof in legal cases on defendants, saying that “everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence” and that the justice system “grants [Trump] that right.”
“The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law,” Pelosi wrote on social media. “No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence. Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right.”
The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law.
No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence.
Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) March 31, 2023
Pelosi’s comments come after the New York Times first reported Thursday that Trump was indicted in connection with a years-old case that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg revived last year related to a hush money scheme involving former Trump attorney Michael Cohen and porn star Stormy Daniels.
The historic news of a former president’s indictment on charges that remain unclear prompted reactions from top politicians across the political spectrum.
Many Republican leaders, such as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), conveyed outrage, slamming Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for what they said was a weaponization of the legal system against political enemies.
Democrat leaders, by contrast, appeared more subdued in their reactions. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), for instance, said Trump “will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate.”
Pelosi’s statement seemingly depriving Trump of the presumption of innocence remained public as of the time of this publishing.
Write to Ashley Oliver at aoliver@breitbart.com. Follow her on Twitter at @asholiver.
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