A French judge has just sentenced right wing leader Marine Le Pen to jail for 4 years and barred her from running for president in 2027. How convenient, since she has been leading in the polls. Glenn takes a look at the case, in which she was found guilty of embezzling EU funds, and compares it to the Biden administration’s prosecution of Donald Trump during the 2024 election. Maybe the French should have learned a lesson from America: people don't like it when you try and take their choice away.
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: This story just caught my eye. This morning, just breaking that the French far right leader, Marine Le Pen has been barred for running for president in 2027 after a court found her guilty of a vast system of embezzlement of European parliament funds, banned her for running for public office with immediate effect.
Now, that seems pretty convenient, doesn't it? Really convenient.
STU: Really convenient. Luckily, all the people that were going to be running against her, where she was the actual favorite, they now don't have to worry about that because of her crimes!
GLENN: Yeah. But it had nothing to do with that. It was all crimes. It was all crimes.
STU: No, it's just incredibly convenient for them. You would think, it's really hard to win against a particular -- it's like, I don't know if you know this, the Super Bowl champions. Philadelphia Eagles. They ran the Super Bowl this past year.
And now they're trying to ban the play, that they do better than every other year.
It's kind of like that! It's kind of like, hey. What if we stop them from doing something they're doing at? What if we stop the candidates that are running against, and accuse them of crimes. Then throw them out. So we don't have to run against them.
GLENN: Now, wait a minute, to be fair. With France, Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted in 2021 of corruption and influence peddling. Remember that? Yeah. Yeah. He could still run, however.
STU: He can. He's not a threat though at all to win again.
GLENN: No. No, no, no. The former Prime Minister in 2017, presidential candidate was convicted in 2020.
This is Francois Feldman, he was convicted in 2020 of embezzlement and creating fake jobs for his wife.
STU: Did he get banned from --
GLENN: Well, he was five years. Three years suspended. But yeah. He could still run.
He could still run. He could still run. But not Le Pen. She somehow or another is different.
You know, this is serious crimes. Even though, the other two were serious crimes as well.
But she can't -- she can't run.
So we've got that. Well, it seems to be happening a lot in Europe.
Where they just seem to be finding these crimes. Or they just have found some elections. They're like, you know what, we just don't think that's right. We don't think that's what the people really meant to do.
Let's overthrow that election!
You know, Stu. You know, I'm not a historian, but I am a thinker.
And it doesn't seem like these things ever work out well. Yeah.
I mean, I don't have to go back to Nazi Germany. Which I could. Where they threw Adolf Hitler into the clinic.
Which made him a hero. I mean, I could go there, but I don't have to.
Did anybody notice the election of Donald Trump?
STU: Hmm. When did that happen?
Is that recent?
GLENN: I'm not sure. I'm not sure.
But I think there was some funny business there. Where they were trying to throw him in jail and trying --
STU: You know why that doesn't work?
I honestly believe this.
Is because the people get pissed off that you're trying to make the decision for them. It has nothing to do with whether the person who got thrown in jail or threatened to be thrown in jail is a good he person.
I don't know if Marine Le Pen is a good person or whether she should be president of France. No rooting interest. I heard her Dad was pretty bad. But I don't know. Who knows.
GLENN: Not French. Don't really care.
STU: Not French. Don't really care, and not following all that closely.
But the French people get annoyed by that, I think.
At least I know the American people do.
GLENN: I think all people do.
STU: I think so too.
GLENN: The number one I put on the list on don't do this too.
Germans. I don't know why I think that. You know, let's not have them, you know, recently. What you know they're doing now?
They've decided, you know what, we need to build an army. Okay.
I mean, let's not piss the people off, while they're building an army. What do you say? What do you say?
STU: Yes.
GLENN: It will be a bad thing.
STU: It will be a double-edged sword on building the army thing.
GLENN: What happens is you're exactly right. It galvanizes people. Because they no longer trust the system. They're like, what the hell? Why are you taking my choice away?
STU: Yeah, don't take it away. Let me make the choice. I think the American people, certainly, and I think the French people probably say. I can look at these allegations.
I can look at what's going on here. And make the decision myself.
People, by the way, did that. With all the allegations against Donald Trump. And they said, you know what, I don't see anything here. Right?
They were just like, no. I don't think this is going to happen. We're going to make this instigation. We talked about it all the time.
The largest jury in the world was just around the corner. There was no reason to try to throw them prison. Let the American people decide whether what they think, whatever he did with Stormy Daniels was big enough for him not to be president. They made a decision.
GLENN: No, no, no. We know better. Well, we don't know better. The judges know better.
The judges always know better. You know, they did this Erewhon. Does anybody remember?
Aren't they like a spooky state now, with Erewhon? Isn't he somebody that we should keep our eye on?
What happened? I think he either recited a poem, or published a poem deemed to be anti-secular. That's against the Constitution. So he was imprisoned. And what happened?
Because he was anti-secular in a largely Muslim country, everybody was like, he's my man.
The ban was lifted on him. And he became, you know, the Prime Minister again. And look at what happened.
Look at turkey now. Friendly nation. I don't think so.
Good news, it's in NATO. So something happens with them. We need to send our boys to protect them.
That's -- good news.
This is not going to work out well.
I mean, they just keep -- they just keep poking and poking and poking the bear.
Have you seen. Did you see what happened in Sweden this weekend. With all of the protests.
All of the things going on. It's becoming an Islamic state.
The whole place is becoming an Islamic state.
Look at what happened in England alone.
They're what, ten years away? Just from birthrates. Ten years away of being the -- the major population? Twenty years.
And that's if everybody stays cool. And wait a minute. How come you're throwing all of the people standing up going, hey. I don't have a problem with Islam.
I do have a problem with -- you know, they're banning -- not machetes. The -- the Japanese knives. Sword. Yeah. Samurai sword.
Why?
People are being beheaded. Why?
I don't know. I mean, it's just a -- it's not going to -- again, I just -- France, I know insular speak your language.
STU: You do, I have heard you.
You have done that before.
GLENN: Yeah. You wake up now, huh.
STU: That's perfect French.
GLENN: You should probably wake up. Because hmm. I'm just saying. I'm just saying.
Oh, by the way, there's another story out today, that is in our show prep, that is kind of reminiscent of this.
You know, the -- the judge that is -- is banning, you know, Trump from doing everything he wants to do.
STU: He was the judge that wanted the Venezuela flights to turn around midair. Mid-flight.
GLENN: Yeah. Boasberg.
Okay. I don't know. I mean, you know, he has been instrumental in a lot of things.
For instance, he was the guy who was like, you know, what do you mean?
What do you mean the FBI lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith? Falsified information to get the -- to get the FBI wiretap going for Donald Trump.
Sure, he -- yeah. Okay.
So what?
He falsified information. What's the big deal then?
So he's the guy that let him off without any prison time for falsing information without a FISA court.
Not a problem.
I mean, this is just. It's comical.
It's absolutely comical.
He also is the guy who happened to hear the case of Ray Epps. And was like, oh, well. No.
He didn't do anything wrong.
You have him on tape. Saying, you know what, you should riot. You should go in there, and storm the Capitol.
He didn't mean that! He's the guy that let Ray Epps off the hook.
I don't know. I don't know. Maybe -- maybe we should talk about impeaching.
You can't do that! Yes, you can. Yeah, that's what's in the Constitution. Why is it that Justice Roberts, and all of these politicians just don't want to use things that are actually in the Constitution?
Well, it's never been done before. Yeah. You know what, I've never used the life vest on an airplane as a flotation device.
It doesn't mean if we're in the water, we shouldn't try it. Oh, you've -- we've never done this before. This has never been done before.
Well, wait. We've never been in the ocean. Floating around, needing a flotation device. I don't know.
Maybe that's an emergency thing that you use. That's why impeachment is there for the justices, in case things go badly!
STU: And the Founders actually thought it was going to be more useful and more common.
GLENN: Yes!
STU: They didn't see it as -- that's what it's turned into with the president, unless you could be Donald Trump. Which is a weekly occurrence.
When it's supposed to be -- it wasn't always supposed to be only this gigantic thing that happened every 15 years. It's something that was utilized a little bit more than it was.
GLENN: They thought people would be like, I don't know, that one was really bad, maybe we should get rid of that guy. Instead, we were passive.
We were, no. That's not so bad.
And in some ways, that's good.
In others, if you live that way, you then are in such bad trouble. By the time you pull that out, that it is an emergency crash landing.
It is the little wait, I have to blow into this little red hoes. And blow it up myself. Okay. This doesn't sound like it will keep me up above water.
But okay.
That's what those things are there for.
And I don't know, I think we should start. This guy, Boasberg.
Ray Epps.
All I need to say.
Ray Epps. Let me show you the video.
Here he is. Hey, everybody. You should go into the Capitol.
Get him. And nothing?
Because of that judge?
Hmm. Hmm. I can't wait until he has to hear a case on somebody with a burning up of a Tesla. Or rioting in the streets. Or beating up an old lady.
I'll bet. I'll bet he has examples there up his sleeve. Where he says, that really doesn't count. That doesn't count.
But I would love to weigh in on Marine Le Pen. I say, if she ever comes here, we execute her!
Okay. Judge. Thank you.