Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., is really leaning into her “cop” persona, going so far as to promise criminal charges against President Trump should she win the White House in 2020.

I guess it is OK now to threaten political opponents with jail time, judging by the lack of reaction or concern this week from the usually aggrieved political and news media pundits.

Under a Harris administration, the Justice Department “would have no choice” but to pursue criminal obstruction of justice charges against America’s theoretically defeated 45th president, the 2020 Democratic primary candidate said this weekend in an interview with the NPR Politics Podcast.

NPR reports:

"I believe that they would have no choice and that they should, yes,” Harris told the NPR Politics Podcast, pointing to the 10 instances of possible obstruction that former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report detailed without making a determination as to whether or not the episodes amounted to criminal conduct.



“There has to be accountability,” Harris added. “I mean look, people might, you know, question why I became a prosecutor. Well, I’ll tell you one of the reasons — I believe there should be accountability. Everyone should be held accountable, and the president is not above the law.”



The former San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general said she wasn’t dissuaded by the prospect of a former American president facing trial and a potential prison sentence. “The facts and the evidence will take the process where it leads,” she said.

Harris’ remarks were made largely in reference to special counsel Robert Mueller and the Justice Department’s explanation against indicting a sitting president.

"I do believe that we should believe Bob Mueller when he tells us essentially that the only reason an indictment was not returned is because of a memo in the Department of Justice that suggests you cannot indict a sitting president. But I've seen prosecution of cases on much less evidence,” Harris said.

She added, in reference to the phrase chiseled into the front of the Supreme Court, "On one side etched in the marble are the words 'equal justice under law.' It doesn't say 'except for the president.' There you go."

Just so we are all clear: A 2020 Democratic primary candidate just promised to prosecute her political opponent should she win the nomination and, later, the presidency. There has been practically no reaction whatsoever (negative or otherwise) from the press or the political classes.

You see, it was very, very bad and dangerous when then-GOP nominee Donald Trump led supporters in chants of “Lock her up!” in 2016, obviously referring to Hillary Clinton. But it is different when Harris does the same. At least, that is one possible takeaway from the lack of concern or disbelief from the same people who were fit to be tried in 2016 when Trump toyed with the idea of prosecuting Clinton, who still believes the election was stolen from her and that she is the rightful heir to the throne.

Harris is lagging in the Democratic primary, polling in fifth place behind former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average. But is she really so desperate as to dangle the promise of prosecution in return for support from Democratic primary voters?

The answer, it would seem, is “yes."