Virginia Democrats Who Backed Trump Prosecutions Now Stress 'Presumption of Innocence' for Indicted State Senate Leader Louise Lucas
Fox News sets the party's past comments on Trump's cases beside its response to the federal charges against Lucas. Only one Democrat answered Fox's questions, and he blamed the timing on the DOJ.
Virginia Democrats who defended investigations of Donald Trump are now urging restraint after federal prosecutors charged one of their own, Fox News reports.
The case. Louise Lucas, the Virginia Senate's president pro tempore, was indicted alongside six others. Prosecutors allege a yearslong criminal enterprise involving marijuana distribution, money laundering, bribery and fraud. Fox says the indictment alleges at least 100 kilograms of marijuana, and FBI Director Kash Patel put the alleged scheme at roughly $4.5 million. Lucas denies wrongdoing. After surrendering she said the federal government had been used against "an 82-year-old great-grandmother" and added, "I will not be bullied." We covered the indictment earlier.
The contrast. Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, who rejected claims Trump was selectively prosecuted, now stresses Lucas's "constitutional presumption of innocence." Attorney General Jay Jones, who said last year that Trump tried to "incite a riot" and "overturn an election," wants the allegations tested in a process "free from political interference or bias." Rep. Bobby Scott joined Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine in saying those charged are innocent until proven guilty. Fox recalls Scott saying during Trump's first impeachment that "no one is above the law." Gov. Abigail Spanberger is also stressing the presumption of innocence.
The party. Fox says the Democratic Party of Virginia declared Trump "rightfully indicted" right after his March 2023 New York indictment. Lucas is now one of the party's vice chairs.
The one answer. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam was the only Democrat Fox contacted who replied. He called the charges "serious" and said Lucas "should face justice if they are true," but accused the DOJ and FBI of timing the arrest for two weeks before the election.
The other side. Fox says the investigation began under the Biden administration, citing reports from the Washington Post, CBS News and the Associated Press that rely on anonymous sources. Attorney General Todd Blanche said, "We don't do political paybacks."
Note for readers: an indictment is not a finding of guilt, and the Trump cases the party commented on ended differently. Fox's report is a comparison of statements, not a legal analysis. We read Fox's report, not the indictment.