Barack Obama: “That understanding of law, not as an intellectual exercise or words on a page, but as it affects the lives of ordinary…”

People need to “rediscover what’s the story we tell about how we’re going to live together, and see each other, and recognise each other, and disagree, and yet, still care for each other”.

It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say.

The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president.

The fact that any president, or any administration, is willing to engage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about Congresswoman Omar’s political views.