For the third time in three months, Donald Trump has identified a foreign ally facing legal trouble. And also for the third time in three months, the American president has condemned the foreign case as a “witch hunt.” As Politico reported, the latest example involves Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro.

President Donald Trump is coming to the defense of Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro as he faces a trial for his role in trying to overturn the results of his country’s 2022 election. Bolsonaro is accused of participating in a plot to prevent the return of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to the presidency of the largest nation in South America, an attempt that echoed Trump’s own earlier efforts to stay in office despite losing an election.

“Brazil is doing a terrible thing on their treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro,” the Republican wrote in a message published to his social media platform. “I have watched, as has the World, as they have done nothing but come after him, day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year! He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE.”

Trump didn’t get around to commenting on the specifics of the allegations — he’s not exactly detail-oriented in areas such as these — but the American president vouched for his scandal-plagued former Brazilian counterpart.

“I have gotten to know Jair Bolsonaro, and he was a strong Leader, who truly loved his Country,” the Republican wrote, adding, “I’ll be watching the WITCH HUNT of Jair Bolsonaro, his family, and thousands of his supporters, very closely. … LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!”

If the message sounded familiar, it wasn’t your imagination.

In April, Marine Le Pen, a prominent far-right politician in France, was caught up in an embezzlement scheme involving E.U. funds. A French judicial panel examined the evidence and agreed to ban Le Pen from ever seeking elected office again.

Trump was not at all pleased with the developments. In fact, while the American president admitted that he didn’t know Le Pen or understand the details of the underlying controversy, the Republican nevertheless said the case against her was a “witch hunt” launched by “European Leftists,” adding that she was “probably” innocent.

In an odd online rant, Trump concluded, “FREE MARINE LE PEN!”

Last week, he did it again, condemning the corruption case against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as — you guessed it — a “witch hunt” that he wants to stop. Despite the seriousness of the allegations, Trump wrote, “Bibi Netanyahu’s trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State. … THIS TRAVESTY OF ‘JUSTICE’ CAN NOT BE ALLOWED!”

As with the other two cases, Trump condemned the allegations of wrongdoing, not because of evidence pointing to Netanyahu’s innocence, but because the American president believes the Israeli prime minister is an ally and “a WARRIOR.” In fact, at no point in his online harangue did Trump even question the charges against the prime minister on the merits.

His argument was almost childlike: He likes Netanyahu, so Netanyahu’s alleged crimes should go unexamined. An Axios report added, “Trump’s comments in a post on his Truth Social account were an unprecedented intervention by a U.S. president in a legal proceeding in another democratic ally.”

That was true at the time, though a week later he did it again.

Stepping back, the problem is not just with the American president’s indifference to diplomatic protocols. Rather, what matters more is what this and related efforts tell us about Trump’s approach to the rule of law.

Indeed, there’s a through line between his many scandalous pardons and his intervention in the Bolsonaro, Le Pen and Netanyahu cases: Trump is convinced that his allies and those who share his ideology cannot be subjected to accountability.

Niceties such as guilt, evidence, justice and the integrity of the legal system are all fine and good, as far as they go, but for the incumbent Republican president, a “witch hunt” is any effort to hold people he likes accountable for alleged wrongdoing.

The next time he claims to care about “law and order,” be sure to read the fine print: We’ve arrived in an era in which justice isn’t supposed to be applied to those who act and think like Trump does.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.