Since the early days of then-candidate Donald Trump’s campaign for the presidency, it’s been clear that the political establishment and our justice system are using and abusing  every tool they have to harm him and try to destroy him. Whether or not you are a fan of President Trump, we can all agree that every person is due equal treatment under the law.

Unfortunately, the sham indictment of President Trump last week by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is nothing more than a shameful attempt to weaponize the American justice system and target people based on their political ideology.

Never before has an American president been indicted. Never before has an American president had his private residence raided by law enforcement. The people responsible for these actions should be held accountable for making a mockery of the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution.

Where are the indictments for Hunter Biden and President Biden for Hunter’s business dealings in Ukraine, China, and Kazakhstan? A year ago, I joined about 100 of my colleagues asking for a special counsel to investigate these shady dealings that have been proven based off emails on Hunter Biden’s laptop. We have hard evidence Hunter Biden used his position as the son of then-Vice President Biden to gain wealth and influence in foreign countries, while lobbying on behalf of foreign entities.

Why have we not seen any indictments or a special counsel against them? Because Attorney General Merrick Garland was appointed by Joe Biden, and it would not fit his political agenda to investigate Hunter Biden or Joe Biden’s involvement in these business dealings. Our left-leaning justice system would rather drum up sham investigations against Donald Trump than root out real corruption.

This witch hunt against President Trump is clearly politically motivated, and it is nothing more than an attempt to cut him off at the knees as he is campaigning to be re-elected in 2024. This abuse of our justice system has the potential to lead our nation down a very dark path, and we all should be very concerned with the direction of our country.

I expect Donald Trump to be given the same due process as anybody else, but I have not seen that happening in this case. For the sake of our country, I truly hope this case is thrown out.

Even if it is not, I am confident the jury will see through this sham and stand up for what is right.

Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.