On Thursday, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came under fire on Twitter for her response to the indictment of former President Donald Trump, as she seemed to misunderstand an important legal principle.
“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,” Pelosi (D-Calif.), 83, wrote.
She received criticism on the social networking platform for failing to acknowledge that Trump is given the presumption of innocence, one of the most fundamental requirements of a fair trial and an internationally recognized human right by the United Nations.
In a tweet, former Trump campaign legal counsel Harmeet Dhillon gently reminded the California Democrat that “we don’t have to prove our innocence in America, Mrs. Pelosi.”
Conservative radio talk show host Michael Levin attacked Pelosi over her article with even more venom, calling her a “moron” and a “Stalinist.”
“Stalinist Pelosi. Prove innocent? It’s innocent until proven guilty, moron. Or at least used to be.”
Similarly to Levin, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) tweeted, “The right to ‘prove innocence’? This is America, not Stalinist Russia.”
More than 30 allegations of business fraud relating to a 2016 “hush money” payment to porn star Stormy Daniels are anticipated to be presented at Trump’s arraignment the following week.
Former Trump fixer Michael Cohen made the $130,000 payment in an effort to silence her over a rumored 2006 affair with the president.
Trump has strongly defended his innocence and called the investigation into Bragg’s case a “witch hunt.”
