LARRY KUDLOW: This is more weaponization against Trump

Kudlow breaks down Trump's indictment over the alleged mishanding of classified documents and his court appearance

I think it's a sad day in American history to see a sitting president weaponize our justice system in order to bring phony criminal charges against his likely main re-election opponent. This is 19th century stuff, where corruption was often rampant, but it’s actually worse today.

Former U.S. presidents have access to classified and unclassified documents after they leave office. Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama nominee, wrote a decade ago,  "the president is completely entrusted with the management and even the disposal of presidential records during his time in office." She was referring to Bill Clinton who had national security information stashed away in a sock drawer after leaving the White House. 

The Trump indictment never mentioned the Presidential Records Act, which is a civil matter that should've been settled amicably out of court. The espionage charges brought against Trump are completely bogus. There is no criminality here or perhaps there is on the part of the special prosecutor, who somehow got a judge to allow him to force a Trump lawyer to give up the attorney-client privilege in what's called a fraud-crime exception. This is more weaponization against Trump. 

TRUMP ENTERS 'NOT GUILTY' PLEA IN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE 

Donald Trump

TURNBERRY, SCOTLAND - MAY 02: Former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a round of golf at his Turnberry course on May 2, 2023 in Turnberry, Scotland. (Photo by Robert Perry/Getty Images) ((Photo by Robert Perry/Getty Images / Getty Images)

It's Joe Biden as senator and vice president who acted illegally, by taking classified documents and stashing them all over town. Somehow Trump got busted and Biden has not. Go figure! Political America in 2023 has become a pretty raunchy place and I haven't even mentioned that the growing Burisma scandal is now closing in on President Biden and his son from all sides. 

Meanwhile, however all this turns out, Mr. Trump is going to fight to the end. The polls still show he's got huge support. I continue to argue that this election's going to be about pocketbook issues -- not phony prosecutions. A recent Job creators poll shows nearly two-thirds of small businesses are worried they're heading into recession.  

Real weekly wages have fallen 26 straight months as inflation continues to bury the middle class. In fact, real wages have dropped 93% of the time during the Biden presidency. It's the longest duration of real wage decline in history -- even double the time frame during the 2008-2009 meltdown. 

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A recent poll by the Democracy Institute shows 61% of voters believe we're in recession. 

A miniscule 26% approve of Joe Biden's handling of the economy. The three top issues, according to the poll, were inflation, economy and jobs. That combined for 50% of voter worries, more than three times the next closest issue which was crime. Biden Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says the president "respects the rule of law" and wants the DOJ to be "truly independent,"  but this is completely wrong. 

The Justice Department is part of any administration, part of the executive branch, appointed by the president. The issue isn't independence. The issue is why can't the Biden Justice Department implement a neutral application of the rule of law, rather than simply working overtime feverishly to criminalize its opponents? That's the real issue. We're not going to solve all this today, but when things look darkest, before they turn completely black let's bring in a little humor from my pal Greg Gutfeld: 

JIM FLORENTINE: You realize that in 2024 on the presidential debate stage, both guys could be wearing ankle bracelets? It could possibly happen. It's possible. 

Save America. A little humor goes a long way. Haha. 

This article is adapted from Larry Kudlow’s opening commentary on the June 13, 2023, edition of "Kudlow."