Sen. Rand Paul briefly used Twitter tonight to share some information about a new piece of legislation he’s cosponsoring. Things were going well enough for a while:
There is only one way to describe detaining a U.S. citizen indefinitely and denying them a trial by jury: Un-American. (1/6)
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 10, 2015
If the government can arrest you, throw you in prison, & strip away due process, our Republic is sliding into dangerous territory. (2/6)
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 10, 2015
That’s why I’m introducing – with Sen. Mike Lee & others – the Due Process Guarantee to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). (3/6)
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 10, 2015
It blocks indefinite detention of Americans without being charged & denying them a jury trial unless there is a vote in Congress. (4/6)
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 10, 2015
Until this happened:
https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/608771632123908096
Tweeters couldn’t help but feel like something was a bit … not quite right:
[Sound of every criminal defense lawyer in the country cringing at once] https://t.co/tRAwJfoEj9
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) June 10, 2015
It certainly came off as pretty cringeworthy.
Nope. https://t.co/ONcDosNpns
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) June 10, 2015
Just no: https://t.co/nk9b56Nxpy
— J (@JustenCharters) June 10, 2015
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/608774186681643008
Recommended
Whoops. Don't think this is right. https://t.co/GvhWBbuitP
— Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock aka Kimberly (@conkc2) June 10, 2015
I get what he's saying but….no. That's not how it works. https://t.co/bZ3l7F0evi
— Drew McCoy (@_Drew_McCoy_) June 10, 2015
https://twitter.com/NathanWurtzel/status/608777266651406337
Yep. That’s how it works, last time we checked.
@RandPaul burden of proof is on the State. Never should a citizen need to "prove" their innocence.
— J Roger Driscoll (@JRogerDriscoll) June 10, 2015
@RandPaul come on Rand. Innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof is on the state, not the citizen.
— matt (@themattjones) June 10, 2015
@RandPaul prove innocence? No. You should be ashamed of such a gaffe.
— Art Nonymous (@ArthurNonymous) June 10, 2015
https://twitter.com/anodynasty/status/608772566522675200
@RandPaul You are doing it wrong! Remember that whole "presumed innocent" thing?
— SoCalConservativeGal (@SoCalViews) June 10, 2015
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/608772077013860352
https://twitter.com/Tark31/status/608772879413485569
@RandPaul Sen. Paul, fire your tweeter. Replace with someone who understands "presumption of innocence" please.
— MrScience_ (@mrscience_) June 10, 2015
You just disqualified yourself there, @RandPaul. You don’t know jack about our system. https://t.co/rgHhTRJ7ue#tcot
— (((WitCoHE))) (@E__Strobel) June 10, 2015
Did he actually disqualify himself? Not necessarily. But when you’re running for president, it helps to maintain the perception that you’re well versed in the subject you’re discussing.
Is it a mistake? Yes. Does this stuff matter? Sure, he's running to make these points strongly and he should do so accurately.
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) June 10, 2015
***
Update:
Welp, looks like the tweet’s been deleted. You can still see it above, but here’s a screenshot as well:
For what it’s worth, looks like Paul’s being a pretty good sport about the initial mistake:
A member of my staff tweeted something erroneous. Of course you are innocent until proven guilty! (1/2)
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 11, 2015
For the staffer who garbled the concept of innocence, we will presume his innocence until the next staff meeting. (2/2)
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 11, 2015