Putting political opponents in jail is the sort of thing that happens in third-world dictatorships.
It certainly is! That's why it's so great that we live in a free and open democracy, where that sort of thing never happens. Right? Right?
Wrong. Sadly, the authors of that above statement are relating it to the United States. Today the New York Times editorial board makes the case that under Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Bush's Justice Department has thrown the principle of nonpartisanship out the window, then jumped up and down on it and spat on it, all without regard to the rights and liberty of their political opponents.
Consider the case of former Democratic Alabama governor Don Siegelman, a threat to Republican gubernatorial hopes. Birmingham prosecutors brought flimsy corruption charges against him, then dropped them after a judge call their case for what it was - garbage. No problem - the Montgomery office picked up the prosecution, earning convictions on just seven of 32 counts, a weak prosecutorial showing by any standards. Maybe if they'd actually had a case?
Consider also Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who won reelection last November despite last minute charges of corruption that have since been abandoned as baseless.
Or how about the case of Georgia Thompson, a Wisconsin state employee who last fall was prosecuted on corruption charges and convicted despite strong evidence of her innocence. She appealed, won, and was released - but she spent several months in jail in the interim. The Democrat who Republicans tried to tie her to, Gov. Jim Doyle, won reelection anyways.
And those are just three cases.
Look, if you commit a crime, then you have a reasonable expectation of being caught and sent to jail. But merely being in the political opposition of the party in power cannot be treated as a crime. We're talking about people's freedom here - the idea that a person can be prosecuted on trumped up charges simply because they disagree with those in power, or pose a threat to the powerful's electoral dominance, goes against everything a democracy should stand for.
This selective prosecution, as the NYT calls it, must not be allowed to continue or go unpunished. The administration is doing their best to block congressional oversight and investigation, but this should only make Congress even more determined. After all,
If Americans are being put in jail for political reasons, Congress must put a stop to it.
Amen.
