{"id":2614393,"date":"2026-06-15T18:42:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T22:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-rolls-its-eyes-at-splc-claim-of-vindictive-prosecution\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T18:47:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T22:47:26","slug":"doj-rolls-its-eyes-at-splc-claim-of-vindictive-prosecution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-rolls-its-eyes-at-splc-claim-of-vindictive-prosecution\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ Rolls Its Eyes At SPLC Claim of &#8216;Vindictive Prosecution&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoj-rolls-its-eyes-at-splc-claim-of-vindictive-prosecution%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2614393&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Department of Justice dismissed the Southern Poverty Law Center\u2019s (SPLC) claim of vindictive prosecution related to charges against them, arguing that the SPLC\u2019s lengthy and dramatic legal defense is more of a media show than a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/5-key-takeaways-from-the-leaked-majority-opinion-draft-overruling-roe-v-wade\/\" title=\"5 Key Takeaways From The Leaked Majority Opinion Draft Overruling Roe V. Wade\">valid legal argument<\/a>. The SPLC, represented by renowned lawyers including Abbe Lowell, argued that their prosecution was politically motivated, citing Donald Trump\u2019s public criticism of the group as a reason they should not face charges. In contrast,the DOJ emphasized that the investigation was proper and based on solid evidence of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-trump-aide-paul-manafort-cant-be-prosecuted-in-new-york-following-pardon-court-rules\/\" title=\"Ex-... Aide Paul Manafort Can...t Be Prosecuted in New York Following Pardon, Court Rules\">financial crimes<\/a>,and dismissed the SPLC\u2019s claims as an attempt to avoid accountability through political rhetoric. Legal experts note that accusations of vindictive prosecution are difficult to prove, as prosecution inherently involves selection, and the law sets a high bar for such claims. The DOJ warned that accepting the SPLC\u2019s argument could set a dangerous precedent, allowing individuals to evade justice by simply criticizing authorities. while the SPLC\u2019s defense attracted media attention, the DOJ\u2019s response was largely overlooked, highlighting the rhetorical nature of the SPLC\u2019s case.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Department of Justice just sighed heavily for the record and told a court not to bother.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/southern-poverty-law-center-seeks-dismissal-criminal-charges-vindictive\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">much-discussed<\/a> bit of recent political theater, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a long and dramatic brief alleging \u201cvindictive prosecution\u201d by Mean Orange Man\u2019s supposedly politicized Department of Justice. Represented by nine lawyers, including elderly theater kid and Hunter Biden attorney Abbe Lowell, the SPLC demanded that their fraud prosecution for allegedly opening bank accounts and transferring money to informants in the name of fake businesses be dismissed. Their evidence that the SPLC can\u2019t be prosecuted was that Donald Trump criticized them. <\/p>\n<p>As The New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/26\/us\/politics\/southern-poverty-law-center-doj.html\">wrote<\/a>, summarizing the argument, \u201cthe lawyers told Judge Emily C. Marks, a Trump appointee who is handling the case, how Mr. Trump, in a social media message shortly after the indictment was returned, had accused the center of being \u2018one of the greatest political scams in American History\u2019 and somehow connected the group\u2019s work to his defeat in the 2020 election.\u201d If Donald Trump calls you names, you can\u2019t be charged with crimes. It\u2019s a get-out-of-jail-free card.<\/p>\n<p>In a brief filed on Friday, federal prosecutors argued plainly that \u201cthis Court need not concern itself with parsing the defendant\u2019s allegations.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>In an example of professionals using lawyerly language to insult the other side, the DOJ wrote that the brief from the SPLC \u201cemploys a novel approach,\u201d by which they mean that the SPLC\u2019s giant legal team is putting on a show for the media that doesn\u2019t mean anything as a legal argument: \u201cIndeed, the defendant\u2019s motion reads more like a press release or response to its critics rather than an attempt to identify the exercise of a recognized, specific legal right that, according to the defendant, led to the indictment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Going on, prosecutors write that they \u201csought an indictment in this case because, after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/23-shot-one-dead-as-chicago-suburb-juneteenth-celebration-turns-violent\/\" title=\"1 Dead, 23 Shot in Violent Juneteenth Celebration in Chicago Suburb.\">law enforcement conducted<\/a> a proper investigation, the Government believed the defendant committed federal financial crimes that could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claims of vindictive prosecution are hard to win. As the lawyer and legal journalist Rory Little <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/2025\/10\/selective-and-vindictive-prosecution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has written<\/a>, \u201cAll prosecutions are necessarily the product of selection.\u201d A defendant who claims vindictive prosecution is saying prosecutors decided to go after him, and that\u2019s pretty much what prosecution tends to mean. Given that reality, Little writes, \u201cThe legal bar for proving violations is necessarily high, and even obtaining discovery is carefully limited.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the Texas A&#038;M law professor William Byrnes <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/28\/analysts-splc-fraud-money-laundering-charges-could-be-the-tip-of-the-iceberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> The Federalist several weeks ago, \u201cfraud is fraud.\u201d Maybe another administration wouldn\u2019t have pursued the same charges on the same evidence, but \u201cthat doesn\u2019t mean that the crimes aren\u2019t being committed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pointing to the potential for wider effects, prosecutors noted that a dismissal would establish the standard that no one could ever be prosecuted once they engaged in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kellyanne-conway-clobbers-media-gossips-and-hints-of-legal-action\/\" title=\"Kellyanne Conway clobbers media gossips and hints of legal action\">public political disagreement<\/a> with an administration. If it works for the SPLC, they wrote, \u201cany defendant could raise such an amorphous defense against a future criminal charge simply by publicly criticizing the prosecuting agency or the government generally,\u201d after which the agency could be said to be prosecuting its enemies.<\/p>\n<p>In the DOJ\u2019s Friday brief, this passage appears on pg. 2:<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>\n<div>\n<p>Screenshot<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>         <span>Image Credit<\/span>Screenshot       <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Though Lowell and the SPLC\u2019s other lawyers are speaking with the expected dramatic language about politics and meanness, the legal argument will be hard to win. <\/p>\n<p>Finally, though, while the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >defense motion alleging vindictive prosecution<\/a> was widely covered in the news, the government\u2019s are-you-kidding-me response appears to have been entirely ignored. That should tell you something about the purpose of the argument.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Chris Bray is a senior correspondent at The Federalist and a former infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army. He has a history PhD from the University of California Los Angeles, not that it did him any good. He also posts on Substack, at &#8220;Tell Me How This Ends,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/chrisbray.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DOJ dismisses SPLC\u2019s vindictive prosecution claim<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2086,"featured_media":2614394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bryan-fair.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4901,15303,64572],"class_list":["post-2614393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-justice","tag-splc","tag-vindictive-prosecution"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bryan-fair.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2086"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2614393"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2614397,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614393\/revisions\/2614397"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2614394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2614393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2614393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2614393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}