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Posted: 2023-06-16T09:01:25Z | Updated: 2023-06-16T11:26:03Z

MSNBC s Mehdi Hasan needed just 60 seconds to dismantle one of the most common lines of defense used by Donald Trump and his supporters.

Its the notion that if Trump can be indicted and prosecuted, so can anyone else.

If they can come for President Trump, they can come for you too, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), a Trump loyalist, wrote on Twitter after the former president was indicted on 37 federal charges in the classified documents scandal.

Some version of that line has been repeated by many others in Trumps corner.

But Hasan made short work of the argument by listing people the Trump administration sent to prison for the very same charges the former president now faces.

And he did it in a minute:

First, its Trump. Next, its you.

Trump allies would have you think hes the first to be prosecuted under the Espionage Act, that ordinary Americans could be next. But take a look at all the people who Trumps DOJ helped send to prison for the same crime! Start the clock! pic.twitter.com/1LMuvKVrYk

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First, its Trump. Next, its you.

Trump allies would have you think hes the first to be prosecuted under the Espionage Act, that ordinary Americans could be next. But take a look at all the people who Trumps DOJ helped send to prison for the same crime! Start the clock! pic.twitter.com/1LMuvKVrYk

The Mehdi Hasan Show (@MehdiHasanShow) June 15, 2023

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So to be clear, Trump was fine with prosecuting people under the Espionage Act for taking classified documents home, Hasan concluded.