Left-wing lawfare has gone global. Following the campaign to slander, impoverish, and imprison President Donald Trump last year, conservative leaders throughout the Western world are facing a shocking crusade of liberal judicial activism that threatens to stifle democracy.
The latest outrageous miscarriage of justice came in France, where a court on Monday ruled that Marine Le Pen, the leader of the conservative National Rally, had misused European Union funds. Le Pen received a four-year prison sentence, half of which was suspended. Judges said she could serve the remaining two years on house arrest.
More importantly, Le Pen is barred from seeking public office for the next five years – meaning that she won’t be eligible for France’s 2027 presidential election. After Le Pen came in second in the last two contests to incumbent Emmanuel Macron (who is now term limited), a March 29 poll showed her as the clear front-runner in the race, with 37 percent support.
The trial itself reeked of political corruption and was rife with procedural shortcuts. Thanks to a bit of bureaucratic maneuvering, the case was adjudicated entirely by judges, denying Le Pen the basic right to face a jury of her peers.
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