Virginia Democrats who previously defended investigations and allegations against Donald Trump are urging restraint now that federal prosecutors have charged one of their own.
The shift is evident across the party’s top ranks following the indictment of Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas. Lieutenant Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, who rejected Republican claims that Trump was being selectively prosecuted after his 2023 classified-documents indictment, is now stressing Lucas’ “constitutional presumption of innocence” and arguing Lucas “is fully entitled to legal due process.” Virginia Attorney General who said last year that Trump tried to “incite a riot” and “overturn an election,” says the allegations against Lucas must be tested through a legal process “free from political interference or bias.”
Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., likewise joined Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine in declaring that “those charged with crime are innocent until proven guilty” and questioning the Justice Department’s motivations â years after Scott said during Trump’s first impeachment that “the facts are uncontested,” called his conduct a “gross abuse of presidential power” and declared that “no one is above the law.” Trump was later acquitted by the Senate.
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meanwhile, is stressing Lucas’ presumption of innocence after calling congressional defenses of Trump’s handling of classified documents “deeply detrimental to our national security” days after his 2023 indictment in a case that was ultimately dismissed without a trial.
Lucas, who also chairs the powerful Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, was indicted alongside six others in what federal prosecutors allege was a years-long criminal enterprise involving marijuana distribution, money laundering, bribery and fraud. She has denied wrongdoing, and an indictment does not establish guilt. The investigation that ultimately produced the charges began during the Biden administration, according to multiple reports.
The contrasting rhetoric extends beyond individual officeholders. The Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA) declared Trump had been “rightfully indicted” and that “no one is above the law” immediately after a Manhattan grand jury indicted him in March 2023 â more than a year before a jury heard the case. The party had also criticized Republican claims that federal law enforcement was being politically “weaponized” against Trump during the classified-documents investigation. Lucas currently serves as a DPVA vice chair.
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Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., was the only Democrat contacted by Fox News Digital who responded to questions about the contrast between his past rhetoric about Trump and his current rhetoric about Lucas, rejecting the suggestion that his positions were inconsistent while accusing federal law enforcement of politically timing Lucas’ arrest.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or Republican, the American people deserve answers and accountability from everyone,” Subramanyam told Fox News Digital.
Subramanyam called the charges against Lucas “serious,” adding that “she should face justice if they are true,” while alleging that “the DOJ and FBI timed this arrest for two weeks before the election for political reasons.”
“Trump has a pattern of targeting political opponents and weaponizing the DOJ, and he has spent his second presidency covering up the Epstein files,” Subramanyam said. “It took Congress for
