(NewsNation) — The last two presidents have weaponized the justice system to punish their opponents, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an appearance on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” Tuesday.
Kennedy, running as an independent in the 2024 election, has watched former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden’s son Hunter be found guilty of felonies in the last two weeks.
Trump was convicted on 34 charges for concealing hush money payments to an adult film actor ahead of the 2016 election.
Hunter Biden was found guilty of all three charges related to an incorrect federal gun form Tuesday afternoon. Days of testimony detailed Hunter Biden’s drug use in the years following his brother Beau’s death by cancer, including former romantic partners like Beau Biden’s widow, Hallie.
“I’ve tried to be disciplined in this campaign by not commenting on the legal problems of either Hunter Biden or even President Trump’s legal problems,” Kennedy said.
He emphasized that addiction, no matter who it affects, should never be weaponized.
The presidential candidate previously called Trump’s guilty verdict “profoundly undemocratic,” suggesting it was devised by Democrats to harm the Republican front-runner.
He fears the separation of politics and justice is thinning.
According to Kennedy, Trump opened the door to politically weaponized investigations when he called for a special prosecutor to lock up Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election cycle.
“I think the Biden administration has gone full force. They’ve weaponized not just the Justice Department, but the FBI, the CIA, the DHS, the IRS,” Kennedy said. “The White House gave portals to those agencies to censor political speech.”
He cited allegedly being denied Secret Service protection as an example of the politicization of federal agencies, a phenomenon he called dangerous.
“It’s not good for our country,” Kennedy said. “It’s not good for democracy.”
Kennedy told NewsNation he will be on the ballot in all 50 states by July. He will face one former and one sitting president in the 2024 election, a mighty task for an independent candidate.
As of early April, he garnered a 41.7% favorability rating based on 74 polls, according to Decision Desk HQ.
