{"id":274113,"date":"2025-04-04T15:05:16","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T15:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/04\/trump-weighs-in-on-marine-le-pen-conviction\/"},"modified":"2025-04-04T15:05:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T15:05:16","slug":"trump-weighs-in-on-marine-le-pen-conviction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/04\/trump-weighs-in-on-marine-le-pen-conviction\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Weighs In on Marine Le Pen Conviction"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/04\/04\/multimedia\/04trump-lepen-01-qmwf\/04trump-lepen-01-qmwf-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Trump Weighs In on Marine Le Pen Conviction\" title=\"Trump Weighs In on Marine Le Pen Conviction\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cFREE MARINE LE PEN!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With this blunt call, a strange one in that the French far-right leader is walking the streets of Paris, President Trump has waded into the politics of an ally, condemning <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/31\/world\/europe\/france-marine-le-pen-embezzlement-2027-election-ban.html\" title=\"\">her conviction this week<\/a> on embezzlement charges and her disqualification from running for public office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The conviction was \u201canother example of European Leftists using Lawfare to silence Free Speech,\u201d Mr. Trump <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/114277430639309106\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">wrote on Truth Social<\/a>. Elon Musk, his billionaire aide, drove home the point: \u201cFree Le Pen!\u201d Mr. Musk <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1908013951113195741\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">echoed on his social media platform X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">More than an extraordinary American intervention in French politics, the statements ignored the overwhelming evidence arrayed against Ms. Le Pen, who was convicted of helping orchestrate over many years a system to divert European taxpayers\u2019 money illicitly to offset the acute financial difficulties of her National Rally party in France.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Instead, for the American president and his team, as well as an angry chorus of Le Pen supporters at home, her case has become part of a vigorous campaign to undermine the separation of powers and the rule of law, which have been portrayed by Vice President JD Vance as no more than a means to stifle the far right and to quash democracy in the name of saving it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Le Pen will speak at <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/J_Bardella\/status\/1907111215123358017\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a big National Rally demonstration<\/a> Sunday in Paris under the banner \u201cLet\u2019s Save Democracy!\u201d The National Rally was founded in 1972 as the National Front, an antisemitic party of fascist roots, by her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen. It was long seen as a direct threat to the democratic rule of the Fifth Republic, before Ms. Le Pen embarked on a makeover.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She is a front-runner in the 2027 French presidential election, but will not be able to run unless she secures a more lenient ruling on appeal. The Paris Court of Appeal, expediting the process, has said a decision is expected to be reached by summer 2026. It is far from clear, however, that this verdict would go her way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The court sentenced Ms. Le Pen to four years in prison, with two of those suspended, and the other two to be served under a form of house arrest. Under this verdict, she would not be put behind bars. For now, Ms. Le Pen\u2019s appeal puts her sentence on hold.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Trump, who said France had put Mr. Le Pen \u201cin prison\u201d and censored her, neither of which is true, compared her treatment to his own at the hands of a \u201cgroup of Lunatics and Losers.\u201d He faced indictments, convictions and criminal cases on his way to winning the presidency last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey get her on a minor charge that she probably knew nothing about,\u201d Mr. Trump said. \u201cSounds like a \u2018bookkeeping error\u2019 to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In fact, the reams of evidence produced at trial and detailed in <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/lesjours.fr\/ressources\/document\/delibere-marine-lepen\/delibere-marine-lepen.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the more than 150-page verdict<\/a> placed Ms. Le Pen at the heart of an elaborate system developed over three legislatures from 2004 to 2016 that used no-show \u201cassistant\u201d jobs at the European Parliament to finance her party. The people in these \u201cjobs\u201d worked for the party in roles like Ms. Le Pen\u2019s security guard or personal assistant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She has denied all charges, saying that the people involved were political aides, not European Parliament employees, even though they were paid with the assembly\u2019s funds. Her sweeping dismissal of volumes of evidence was viewed as cavalier by the presiding judge, B\u00e9n\u00e9dicte de Perthuis, one reason she considered her capable of similar acts if not barred from running for public office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">According to the court ruling, in June 22, 2014, Jean-Luc Schaffhauser, a former National Rally lawmaker at the European Parliament, wrote to Wallerand de Saint-Just, the party\u2019s former treasurer. \u201cWhat Marine is asking us to do is the equivalent of signing for fictitious jobs,\u201d he said. \u201cI understand Marine\u2019s reasons, but we\u2019re going to get burned because we\u2019ll certainly be scrutinized as such a large group.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That same month, Mr. Saint-Just wrote to Ms. Le Pen, portraying the party\u2019s grave financial situation, the court said. \u201cIn 2013, monthly expenses were 100,000 euros more than expected,\u201d as a result of missions, receptions, travel and conferences, he said. \u201cWe will only get by if we make significant savings thanks to the European Parliament.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Those \u201csavings\u201d amounted to close to $4.8 million over the time the scheme ran its course. At the same time, in 2014, Ms. Le Pen, using her ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, had secured in extremis a loan from a Russian bank to bail out the party.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">French courts, acting on laws passed and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.publicsenat.fr\/actualites\/politique\/video-quand-marine-le-pen-demandait-lineligibilite-a-vie-pour-les-elus-condamnes-pour-detournement-de-fonds-publics\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">vigorously supported by Ms. Le Pen<\/a> over the past 15 years in response to public outrage over political corruption, have hardened their positions on cases involving prominent politicians, including Nicolas Sarkozy, a former president.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/06\/29\/world\/europe\/fillon-france-embezzlement-scandal.html?searchResultPosition=1\" title=\"\">2017 presidential bid of Fran\u00e7ois Fillon<\/a>, a former prime minister, was derailed by an investigation into no-show parliamentary jobs involving his wife and several children. He was convicted in 2020 but his case is still going through the appeals process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While Ms. Le Pen\u2019s conviction and disqualification conform with these developments, they are unique in barring a leading presidential candidate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">This has ignited political passions and led to an intense debate pitting \u201cdemocracy\u201d and the \u201cpeople\u201d against the law, even if a state stripped of the rule of law is almost certainly headed toward autocracy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe verdict is heavy, a severe decision given Ms. Le Pen\u2019s long disqualification,\u201d said Anne-Charl\u00e8ne Bezzina, a senior lecturer in public law at the University of Rouen. \u201cThere\u2019s never been anything like it in the Fifth Republic. But is it anti-democratic? Evidently not. A functioning justice system independent of political power is the sign of a healthy democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">An <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ouest-france.fr\/politique\/marine-le-pen\/exclusif-affaire-le-pen-64-pourcent-des-francais-tiennent-a-lexecution-provisoire-des-peines-bfac968a-10a2-11f0-a359-3785f88c9270\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">opinion poll<\/a> by the Ouest-France newspaper and the Ifop polling institute this week found that 64 percent of French people supported a court\u2019s ability to immediately bar convicted politicians from running for office. At the same time, a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sudradio.fr\/societe\/pres-dun-francais-sur-deux-souhaite-que-le-pen-candidate-a-lelysee-selon-un-sondage\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">poll<\/a> by Sud Radio and Ifop found that 49 percent of people believe Ms. Le Pen should be allowed to run for president.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/04\/world\/europe\/trump-marine-le-pen-conviction.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cFREE MARINE LE PEN!\u201d With this blunt call, a strange one in that the French far-right leader is walking the streets of Paris, President Trump has waded into the politics of an ally, condemning her conviction this week on embezzlement charges and her disqualification from running for public office. The conviction was \u201canother example of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274114,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/04\/04\/multimedia\/04trump-lepen-01-qmwf\/04trump-lepen-01-qmwf-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2712,164813,155970,164984,43104,163575,2534,19393,896,96465,210936,9403,152437,169367,165514,137130,165513,137132,6896,6039,145235,3347,42341,137131,169471,88818,163229,209,164809,52,128437,163486,81146,128440,22303],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274113"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274113"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":274115,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274113\/revisions\/274115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}