- Le Pen's presidential hopes were dashed with the verdict in France
- FURTHER READING: French Judge Handling Le Pen Case Receives Security Due to Threats
- PODCAST: Round three for Trump, Musk parts ways with DOGE – and ex-Denmark ambassador discusses the 'wisest move' for Greenland. Tune in now.
President Donald Trump compared himself to the convicted French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen , describing her exclusion from elective offices as "a very significant matter."
"That's quite significant. That's really a major development," Trump stated to journalists in the Oval Office.
He showed empathy towards Le Pen and mentioned that her circumstances "sound quite similar to what this country is experiencing."
'I know all about it, and a lot of people thought she wasn't going to be convicted of anything and I don't know that it means conviction but she was banned for running for five years and she's the leading candidate. That sounds like this country. That sounds very much like this country,' he added.
Le Pen, 56, on Monday was convicted of creating fake jobs at the EU parliament and taking advantage of expenses to employ assistants who were actually working for her party in France .
The leader of the far-right RN party was prohibited from seeking public office for five years and received a four-year prison term; however, she won’t serve time behind bars since half of her sentence is suspended and the remaining period will be completed under house arrest using an electronic monitor.
Trump has long portrayed himself the victim of a government 'witch hunt' and politically motivated prosecutions.
Trump has been subject to many lawsuits from state and federal governments:
- The state of New York convicted him in 2024 of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels but his sentencing was indefinitely postponed following his second election to the presidency
- Prior to November 2024, a federal judge discarded the federal charges associated with Trump's management of classified documents.
- Following Trump's victory in the elections, the special counsel chose to drop the federal charges associated with the 2020 electoral process, adhering to the Justice Department’s guideline of refraining from pursuing cases against incumbent presidents.
- A case against in Georgia is on pause while the courts decide whether a state-level prosecutor can prosecute a sitting president
He refuted any allegations of misconduct in all the cases.
Various members of the Trump administration have supported President Trump's position regarding Le Pen.
Trump's DOGE adviser Elon Musk also criticized the French court's ruling , saying: 'When the radical left can't win via democratic vote, they abuse the legal system to jail their opponents. This is their standard playbook throughout the world.'
And S The State Department representative Tammy Bruce mentioned that they were aware of Le Pen's sentencing.
'The exclusion of individuals from politics is especially troubling considering the intense and tainted legal battles initiated against President [Donald] Trump in the United States,' Bruce stated.
However, she chose not to comment specifically about Le Pen's situation.
The ruling on Monday was viewed as hammer blow to Le Pen's long-held hopes of ascending to the presidency in 2027 .
She was required to pay a $100,000 fine, and her party had $2 million deducted from their funds—$1 million immediately, with another $1 million being claimed should she offend again.
Le Pen could appeal her sentence. If her bid fails, she will get a four-year prison sentence - two of which were suspended and two to be served under house arrest.
A total of twenty-four individuals, including Le Pen, were found guilty—these included allRN party officials or assistants. Just one defendant was cleared of any misconduct.
Le Pen stated she plans to file an appeal.
She contended that the court shouldn’t have rendered her unfit for public office without giving her the opportunity to exhaust all her appeals first. She also stated that this decision clearly indicated an intention to obstruct her path to the presidency.
"If that isn't a political decision, then I'm not sure what qualifies as one," Le Pen stated during the TF1 interview.
She stated that the decision represented a 'critical moment for our democratic system,' yet she pledged to continue pursuing what she referred to as the now 'undoubtedly limited' route to the presidency.
"There are millions of French individuals who have faith in me, millions who place their trust in me," she said additionally.
'I have been advocating for you for three decades, and simultaneously combating injustice during this time, so I will keep up my fight.'
She can retain her position in the French National Assembly.
Amidst the extensive backlash following the verdict, one of France’s leading public prosecutors dismissed the notion that politics played any role in Monday's ruling.
"Justice is apolitical; this isn’t a political choice but rather a legal ruling made by three unbiased and fair-minded judges," Remy Heitz stated to RTL radio station.
It wasn't just Trump who was critical of the verdict. Other conservative leaders in Europe blasted it.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the ruling against Le Pen disenfranchised millions of voters in France and the EU.
'I don't know the merits of the accusations against Marine Le Pen, or the reasons for such a strong decision,' Meloni, leader of the Brothers of Italy party, told Il Messaggero.
However, I believe that nobody concerned with democracy can be pleased by a verdict that penalizes the head of a significant political party and disenfranchises millions of voters.
Russia also waded in.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, told journalists: "An increasing number of European cities are treading on the principles of democracy."
Absolutely, we have no intention of interfering with France’s domestic matters; this has always been our stance… However, broadly speaking, our assessments of various European cities indicate that they are quite open to transcending democratic norms throughout their political proceedings.
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