Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz questioned why the government gets to “win” in the case against President Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort before a hearing or trial.
[Trump: Judge’s order to jail Paul Manafort ‘tough,’ ‘very unfair’]
“Why does the government get to win without a hearing or trial?” Dershowitz questioned on “Fox & Friends” Saturday.
“There’s something wrong with a system that assumes guilt this way,” he commented.
.@AlanDersh: Why does the government get to put Paul Manafort in jail without trial? There’s something wrong with a system that assumes guilt this way. pic.twitter.com/5fs9qtRPeH
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) June 16, 2018
The outspoken law professor questioned why Manafort was sent to jail before his July trial and “presumed guilty” while U.S. Constitution says all citizens are “innocent until proven guilty.”
“Under the law, Manafort is no more guilty of contacting witnesses or attempting to obstruct justice than any of us,” he argued. “The government says he did it, he says ‘no’ he didn’t do it.”
Dershowitz made similar remarks on Friday, labeling Manafort’s jailing as “obnoxious to our constitution,” just hours after a judge sent Manafort to jail while he awaits his trial as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign.
