Devin Nunes says Trump indictment shows America is a ‘police state.’ That’s ridiculous | Opinion

A day after former President Donald Trump learned he was in fact going to be indicted by a New York grand jury, his employee Devin Nunes told a Fresno radio audience that America had become “a police state.”

Taking part in Ray Appleton’s show on radio station KMJ, Nunes — the former Republican congressman from Tulare who also represented Clovis — explained how the corruption of American society had reached a new low with the Trump indictment. The district attorney in Manhattan is expected to formally charge Trump with illegally reporting a business expense that was actually a hush-money payment to a porn star.

“This latest total corruption in Manhattan is the uncharted territory of a police state,” Nunes said. “For lack of a better word, it is a police state.”

The hour-long segment with Nunes followed his time-worn script of blasting the Democratic party as being out to destroy America.

Nunes said that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s wing of the Democratic party was aligned with communists. George Soros, a wealthy Democrat who often backs progressive groups and candidates, was in cahoots with anarchists, Nunes contended.

The two combine efforts to try to control everything and everyone in America, Nunes stated. At one point, Nunes said Soros controls “nearly every DA (district attorney) in the U.S.” That would be news to Fresno County’s Lisa Smittcamp, who is solidly in the conservative camp.

The confidential, top-secret documents found illegally stored at Trump’s Florida estate? That was a U.S. government-run hoax, Nunes said. “There’s Biden documents all over America and we haven’t done jack about them,” Nunes said in reference to documents also being discovered at President Biden’s home. One key difference: Trump opposed giving documents back, while Biden volunteered the discovery of records in his home.

Nunes was one of the most senior Republicans in the House of Representatives when he abruptly retired at the end of 2021 rather than face re-election in a redrawn district. His final day in office was New Year’s Day 2022.

He slid into a new job — leading Trump’s new online network called Truth Social. Of the online creation, Nunes said “We stand there, in the gap, keeping the internet open,” a reference to how Twitter and Facebook banned Trump following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump has since been allowed back on those social media platforms.

Appleton so friendly

Over the course of the show, Appleton did not challenge any assertion by Nunes. At one point, they shared how they had enjoyed dinner together a few nights previously. Appleton referred to Nunes several times as “my friend.”

But the mere fact that Appleton was able to conduct his radio show, and Nunes was a guest on it, without a uniformed official from the “police state” shutting them down, was immediate proof that there isn’t any such thing.

Even more evidence would be the hundreds of thousands of Fresnans — like millions of Americans — who freely went to work, did shopping, sent children to school and enjoyed times with friends on the same day that Nunes was on the radio. No weapon-wielding troops stopped any of those activities.

The Democratic-led “police state” that Nunes fears so much was ne’er to be found.

At another point in the show, Nunes said “We are now living in a lawless country.”

Far from being a lawless nation, America still operates under the rule of law. Trump stands accused, he will be represented and put up a defense, and a jury will determine if he is guilty.

Yes, Trump is the first former president to be indicted. But no one should be above the law. At least, that is what Republicans used to believe.