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Jon Stewart Gives Trump-Defending GOP Governor A Blistering Legal Fact-Check

Ben Blanchet
·2 min read

Jon Stewart pointed out on Thursday that former President Donald Trump really is proof of a “two-tiered justice system” after Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) complained about the 37-count federal indictment of Trump.

Youngkin, commenting last week on Trump’s Espionage Act indictment for mishandling classified documents, wrote on Twitter that Trump was being victimized by selective prosecution that ignores some people’s lawbreaking.

Other Trump-defending Republicans have offered similar selective-prosecution arguments, including 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio).

Stewart, host of “The Problem with Jon Stewart” retweeted a clip from his show acknowledging the existence of a “two-tiered justice system” before schooling the Republican governor on Trump’s place in it.

“Trump has used privilege and wealth to protect himself from legal accountability at every turn,” said Stewart in a clip initially shared in April following Trump’s indictment on charges involving hush money payments.

“He has lived his entire adult life in the space twixt illegal and unethical. He’s in the tier where you get the platinum arraignment package — no cuffs, no mugshot, all-you-can-eat fingerprint ink.”

Stewart went on to question if regular people surround themselves with a “meat shield of henchmen to go to prison in their place,” a reference to the many Trump associates who have been prosecuted.

The former “Daily Show” host later analyzed the New York state attorney general’s civil lawsuit against Trump’s now-defunct charitable organization, which Trump was ordered to settle for $2 million.

“Yes. It’s all selective prosecution,” Stewart said. “And when you’re in the good tier, you can do whatever you want and you’re probably going to be fine.”

“In fact, you might even be elected president — twice.”

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