Washington [US], January 18: The "weaponization" of the law , seen as a way to abuse the law to deal with political opponents, is becoming a new concern in the US, and this concern does not stop at the political world.
Early next week, on January 20, US President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated. However, he will also become the first US president to be convicted of a felony.
From the accusation of political "revenge"
Specifically, exactly 10 days before the White House officially changed hands, on January 10, Judge Juan Merchan in New York State (USA) issued a verdict against President-elect Trump for paying hush money to an adult film actress in 2016 and falsifying business records to cover it up.CNN quoted prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, who said at the sentencing hearing that the jury's verdict was unanimous and must be respected, according to CNN. Steinglass also noted that Trump's crimes could have been punishable by prison or other punishments, but with his election as president, prosecutors were asking for "unconditional release from prison." Although he did not face a prison sentence, the verdict formalized Trump's conviction for a felony.
In response, President-elect Trump rejected the verdict and criticized that the above case, along with the criminal charges and civil lawsuits against him, were all a ploy to "weaponize" the judicial system to attack Mr. Trump.
On January 14, the US Department of Justice released a report by special prosecutor Jack Smith, who has since resigned, concluding that Mr. Trump had engaged in "unprecedented criminal conduct" to hold on to power after his defeat in the 2020 election . The report also asserted that there was enough evidence to prosecute Mr. Trump, but it was unsuccessful because he was re-elected. After the US Department of Justice released the report, Mr. Trump also responded, saying that it was also an attempt to "weaponize" the law against him.
Meanwhile, incumbent US President Joe Biden also claims that he is a victim of the "weaponization" of the law for political purposes. In early December, Mr. Biden used his executive power to pardon his son,
Hunter Biden, who was convicted of gun possession charges in Delaware and who himself had previously pleaded guilty to tax evasion in California.
This decision goes against his previous statement. Regarding the incident, The Washington Post quoted Mr. Biden as saying: "No rational person looking at the facts of Hunter's case can come to any conclusion other than that Hunter is being criticized simply because he is my son. I hope the American people will understand why a father, and also a president, made this decision."
To the risk of business
Earlier this January, the US House Judiciary Committee released a report on the "weaponization" of law in the country. Accordingly, this situation does not only occur between political opponents, but also targets businesses. The report cited legal pressure from the US government on large technology corporations that has forced Facebook to be forced by the White House to censor content related to Americans. Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, founder and Chairman of Meta (the corporation that owns Facebook), has publicly admitted this. Even those who speak out against criticism can be retaliated by the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In the context of the deepening division within the United States, the above risks become even greater. In parallel, in the face of increasingly fierce competition in business, businesses "borrow the hands" of authorities to abuse the law to destroy competitors.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
