Prof. Victor Menaldo, Prof. James D. Long, and Grad student Morgan Wack's work cited in Reason article, "Dump the Politicized Case Against Trump and Make Way for Serious Investigations"
A recent poll suggests that 60% of Americans support the indictment of former US President Donald Trump on fraud charges based on a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. However, the polls also show that many Americans believe the indictment is politically motivated, which raises questions about the legitimacy of the case. Critics argue that the indictment is based on untested legal theories and weak evidence, and is aimed at preventing Trump from running for president in 2024. They argue that the legal system should not be used to pursue political vendettas.
"At first glance, prosecuting current or past top officials accused of illegal conduct seems like an obvious decision for a democracy: Everyone should be held accountable and subject to the rule of law," the University of Washington's Victor Menaldo, James D. Long, and Morgan Wack observed in 2021 when cases against political figures were underway in Bolivia, France, Israel, South Africa, and the U.S. But, they added, "if the prosecution of past leaders is brought by a political rival, it can lead to a cycle of prosecutorial retaliation."