Rajan Laad writes for the American Thinker about a disturbing statement from former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The reaction to the unprecedented indictment of President Trump was predictable.
Most of Trump adversaries responded with unrestrained jubilation. …
… Pelosi wrote:
“No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence.”
This is nothing short of a shocking statement, especially from a lawmaker with many decades of experience. The presumption of innocence is the standard in any civilized democracy — anyone accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilty. The legal burden of proof lies on the prosecution, which must present compelling face-based evidence to before a judge or a jury. The prosecution must prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If reasonable doubt remains, the accused must be acquitted.
The presumption of innocence is also an international human right under the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 11. …
… It is unlikely that Pelosi isn’t aware of the legal standards in the U.S. Perhaps her feeling of schadenfreude got the better of her, or maybe this is a warning for others who support the MAGA agenda. Pelosi know that such claims will receive no condemnation in D.C. because the target is President Trump.
Thankfully Elon Musk’s Twitter flagged Pelosi’s Tweet and presented context to it in the community notes feature.
So are there any countries where the accused is guilty until proven innocent?
They are mostly third-world countries or theocratic or military dictatorships where the might of the law is used to target opponents and dissidents. Irrespective of what their constitution says, dissidents were presumed guilty until proven innocent.
This is how the law operated in Stalin’s Russia, Nazi Germany, Mussolini’s Italy, Franco’s Spain etc.
