{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://fulcher.house.gov/2023/08/28/id-543d4aff-170a-4f60-8876-eee307189188/", "Op Ed: Dear DOJ: Leave The Politics To Congress (Gem State Patriot)", "2023-08-28", "2023", "2023-08", "Republican", "House", "ID", "Russ Fulcher", "F000469", "fulcher.house.gov", "fulcher", "https://fulcher.house.gov/category/press-releases/", "scraper", "Congressman Russ Fulcher\n\nOriginally published in the Gem State Patriot on August 26th, 2023.\n\nBy taking unprecedented steps to repeatedly prosecute former President Donald Trump, the Department of Justice (DOJ) stands as a prime example for why Washington, D.C., is known as \u201cThe Swamp.\u201d These are non-elected personnel, acting with clear political bias, using U.S. law as a weapon. The only thing that rivals their level of bias against Trump is their lack of appetite to pursue Biden family indiscretions.\n\nEvery election cycle, Americans select their House, Senate, and Presidential representation. By executing their right to vote, the American people help keep checks and balances on the branches of government. But now we have the likes of\u2026 Jack Smith. Yes, Jack Smith. He\u2019s the \u201cspecial counsel\u201d selected to prosecute Donald Trump. Jack Smith is a guy appointed by another guy that was appointed (A.G. Merrick Garland), and whose politically motivated directives could set precedents that are harmful to our Republic.\n\nThose directives are to use criminal indictments and prosecution to deal with what the White House sees as their \u201cpolitical problem\u201d\u2026Donald Trump. Therein lies the unconstitutional, dangerous precedent.\n\nMake no mistake, \u201cThe Swamp\u201d is afraid of Donald Trump. They know that if he is elected President again, bureaucrat heads will roll. Corrupt leadership within the DOJ, aided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), are selectively \u201cweaponizing\u201d U.S. law against now candidate Trump, in an effort to ensure there is never another Trump presidency.\n\nThe motivation to keep Trump \u201cout\u201d is so high, any constitutional boundaries that get in the way are quickly disregarded.\n\nThe Constitution outlines three requirements to be President. One must be a natural-born citizen, no younger than 35 years old, and a resident of the United States for at least 14 years. Our Constitution also provides for a process by which a President\u2019s actions can be questioned, investigated and ruled upon. It\u2019s called the impeachment process \u2013 granted to the U.S. Congress, ultimately with the power of removal.\n\nThe process is not easy, nor should it be\u2026 as it can result in supplanting one of the three separate but equal branches of government. The point is\u2026 our Founders were wary of oppressive forces, so they made the question of political disputes a hallmark of the U.S. House and Senate \u2013 NOT executive prosecutorial discretion.\n\nPolitical weaponization of the law by the DOJ and prosecutors is exactly what blind lady justice should avoid. Such a path opens a pandora\u2019s box of \u201cwhat\u2019s next.\u201d Donald Trump is appreciated by some and despised by others, but in his case, the motive of the \u201cD.C. Swamp\u201d is to neutralize his Presidential candidacy.\n\nThankfully, our Founders built a Divinely inspired system with some safeguards \u2013 almost as if they foresaw the corruption that has come to bear. If prosecution results in jail time for Mr. Trump, it doesn\u2019t change the fact that he can still be President. And the prosecutorial process still has the potential of being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.\n\nThere\u2019s no shortage of issues, problems, arguments, and corruption within American government. But there are also constitutional guidelines and a rule of law that provides for civilized, righteous resolution. The challenge for all of us \u2013 is to follow them and hold each other accountable. So\u2026 to the DOJ, FBI, Mr. Smith, and all you political prosecutors out there: Leave the politics to Congress, there\u2019s plenty of theft and violent crime in our cities to keep you busy.\n\nGem State Patriot News is a not-for-profit news resource in Idaho and is published by Bob Neugebauer.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:30:18Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://fulcher.house.gov/2023/08/28/id-543d4aff-170a-4f60-8876-eee307189188/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8989311754703522, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}