On September 3, 2018 Trump tweeted:
Two long running, Obama era, investigations of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department. Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2018
Trump clearly believes that his political allies should be immune from prosecution, regardless of the evidence. This goes against the many times he declared he was going to “Drain the Swamp.”
Representative Duncan Hunter, Republican-California has been indicted for using campaign funds for personal use and were charged with counts of wire fraud, falsifying records, campaign finance violations and conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty and continues to campaign for re-election.
Representative Chris Collins, Republican-New York was charged with 13 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud and making false statements related to an alleged insider trading scheme. He has pleaded not guilty and has suspended his campaign for re-election.
Republican congressional leadership considered the charges serious enough to move to strip both men of their committee assignments.
If the Justice Department had held off on prosecuting to help them to win it would have been highly unethical and a very obviously politically motivated violation of the department’s mission.