Letters to the Editor: ‘Politically motivated’ investigation? Trump’s GOP sounds like Nixon’s GOP

To the editor: I get tired of hearing the term “politically motivated” from many Republicans regarding former President Trump’s alleged criminal activity in hush money payouts, as if saying that makes the investigations inappropriate or wrong. (“How Kevin McCarthy’s Bakersfield is reacting to Trump’s indictment,” April 3)

I don’t recall that term being used regarding the Trump University settlement of $25 million in 2017 from an investigation that started in 2010. Nor was it used for the misuse of Donald J. Trump Foundation funds, resulting in a $2-million settlement in 2019.

Would justice be better served if Trump were just a New York real estate investor?

If the Republicans used that term “politically motivated” in the investigation of President Nixon’s role in the Watergate break-in and cover-up, it certainly didn’t stick after the country learned the facts.

And here’s a thought: What if these “politically motivated” investigations give candidates second thoughts on running for office? It might discourage the criminally minded from seeking office, realizing their past actions would be dug up. That would be the best outcome of “politically motivated” investigations.

Steve Latshaw, West Hills

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To the editor: According to Greg Perrone, president of the Greater Bakersfield Republican Assembly, “The left has a batting average of zero against Donald Trump.”

Who wants to tell him that the left is batting .750 (three for four) in elections (2018, 2020 and 2022) against Trump?

George W. Serbia, Irvine

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To the editor: As a retired deputy district attorney for Los Angeles, I get really upset when bad legal information is put out to the public.

In the article reporting the reaction in Bakersfield to the Trump indictment, Perrone is quoted as saying, “The law says innocent until proven guilty.”

This is not the law. You are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The presumption does not make you innocent.

I was a deputy DA for 37 years; before then, I was a deputy city attorney for Los Angeles. I saw people get into trouble because of their mistaken assumptions about the law.

Richard Lowenstein, Tarzana