U.S. President Donald Trump offered to “destroy” the career of a Texas state senator who opposes asset seizure before a suspect is convicted during a meeting Tuesday with county sheriffs.
Trump met in the Roosevelt Room with sheriffs from around the country and invited them each to make a statement while reporters were present.
Rockwell County, Texas, Sheriff Harold Eavenson was the first to speak up, complaining about a measure that would prevent the government from seizing a suspect’s assets before that suspect is convicted.
“Can you believe that?” Trump asked.
“And I told him that the cartel would build a monument to him in Mexico if he could get that legislation passed,” Eavenson added.
“Who is the state senator? Do you want to give his name? We’ll destroy his career,” Trump said.
Federal racketeering laws allow law enforcement to seize assets without due process, a controversial practice questioned by some conservatives as well as liberals. Police say such seizures allow them to combat everything from terrorism to the drug trade, but the practice also has victimized people who were wrongfully accused. They then have to prove they are not criminals to get their property back.
Police departments use asset seizure to augment their budgets and warn repealing the practice would gut funding, the liberal-leaning ThinkProgress reported.
Attorney General-designate Jeff Sessions is a staunch supporter of asset seizure
It was unclear to whom Eavenson was referring. Texas state Sen. Konni Burton introduced a bill in December, and state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa filed a similar measure in November.
The Texas Tribune quoted Hinojosa as saying he never had met Eavenson but invited him to talk about it.
“There have been abuses, and I want a higher standard of proof,” he said during a break in a floor session.
Hinojosa shrugged off the theat.
“The president says a lot of things off the cuff,” Hinojosa said. “It was probably just hyperbole.”
The Tribune said Burton, who is a woman, did not respond to a request for comment. But she told the Texas Observer last week she thinks the current practice violates the Constitution.
State Sen. Bob Hall, who represents Rockwell County, has spoken about the issue but hasn’t introduced any legislation.
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