Ryan pushes back on Trump DOJ attack: ‘Justice should be blind’

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) reaffirmed that the U.S. justice system “should be blind” on Wednesday, two days after President Trump lashed out at Attorney General Jeff Sessions for prosecuting two of Trump’s early GOP supporters.

“Justice is blind. Justice should be blind and should have no [consideration] with respect to political party. That’s the emblem of the Justice Department: blind justice,” Ryan told reporters in his first news conference since the House’s summer recess.

{mosads}“So I think it’s very important that we respect the fact that justice should be blind. It should have no impact on political party and I think the process is working its way as it should.”

Ryan, however, did not utter Trump’s name during his remarks.

Two of Ryan’s House GOP colleagues — Rep. Chris Collins of New York and Duncan Hunter of California — were indicted by the Justice Department over the August break. Collins, his son and others were charged with insider trading. Hunter and his wife were charged with misusing campaign funds and other crimes.

Collins and Hunter were the first members of Congress to endorse Trump in the 2016 GOP presidential primary.

On Labor Day, Trump made his feelings known, slamming Sessions, his own attorney general, for bringing charges against fellow Republicans and possibly costing them their seats this fall.

“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,” Trump tweeted. “Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff……”

Along with the conviction of Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and guilty pleas from Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, Democrats are trying to paint the GOP as the party of rampant corruption before the November midterms.

But Ryan called the Collins and Hunter indictments “isolated incidents,” and argued that tax cuts and the strong economy would carry Republicans through the election.

“We’ve taken the appropriate action. We’ve removed these members from their committees, which is what we do in these kinds of situations, which have happened on the other side of the aisle as well. These are isolated incidents,” Ryan said.

“Our members are working hard at doing their jobs … to improve people’s lives. We have an agenda we’re proud of, and we have more work to do that we’re going to complete,” he added. “And that’s going to be the story that’s going to dominate.”

–Updated at 11:25 a.m.