Right-wing pundit Dinesh D’Souza says his prosecution on campaign finance charges may be political retribution for his railing against President Obama.
“There is reasonable and credible basis for concern that the defendant Dinesh D’Souza was targeted for felony prosecution in this case specifically because of his consistently caustic and highly publicized criticism of President Obama,” a lawyer for the conservative author and filmmaker wrote last week.
The claim, first reported Tuesday by the New York Times, came in court papers asking Manhattan Federal Judge Richard Berman to dismiss the charges.
D’Souza, who wrote the 2010 book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage” and co-directed the 2012 documentary, “2016: Obama’s America,” is accused of using straw donors to illegally contribute $20,000 to the 2012 U.S. Senate campaign of New York Republican Wendy Long, a longtime friend.
The individual limit for the election cycle was $5,000.
The 52-year-old has pleaded not guilty and his case is slated for trial next month. His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, has called the straw donor contributions “an act of misguided friendship” at worst.
Federal prosecutors filed a response calling D’Souza’s claim about political bias “entirely without merit.”
