A Missouri House candidate who won his Republican primary by a razor-thin margin has been hit with a federal drug conspiracy charge for allegedly trying to plant cocaine and Adderall on his opponent — a frame job that should alarm every American who believes elections ought to be won on ideas, not fabricated felonies.

Thomas Ross, 37, of Joplin, made his initial court appearance Thursday. According to court documents cited by the Associated Press, Ross gave his campaign manager a black nylon glove containing a plastic bag of white powder and a pink-and-white capsule, and told him to stash it in opponent Louise Secker's purse or vehicle while Ross was out of state on vacation.

Ross defeated Secker by only a few dozen votes in the Aug. 4 primary.

The FBI says Ross sent numerous text messages to his staffer about "the substance," hoping the drugs would be planted before Secker attended a Republican women's meeting at a Joplin restaurant in June — which Ross texted "would be extreme egg on the face." Lab tests confirmed the substances were cocaine and Adderall, according to the probable cause statement.

Missouri GOP chairman Peter Kinder called the circumstances "serious and deeply troubling" and urged Ross to drop out. Ross has not responded to requests for comment, and his federal public defender has not said how he plans to plead.

U.S. Attorney R. Matthew Price issued the obligatory statement about voters deserving "confidence in elections" and candidates conducting themselves with "integrity, honesty, and respect." But the system Price represents has a credibility problem of its own when it comes to manufactured narratives.

Consider the parallel case of Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant coach convicted in 2012 on 45 counts of child sexual abuse. One of his accusers, Ryan Rittmeyer — known at trial as "Victim 10" — has now sworn in an affidavit that he lacks "a clear memory of being sexually assaulted by Sandusky as a child" and that investigators "repeatedly encouraged me to believe that Mr. Sandusky had molested me — despite my lack of clear or certain memory of any such conduct." Rittmeyer also says prosecutors assured him he would be compensated in civil proceedings. He ultimately received a $5.5 million settlement from Penn State.

ESPN reports that Sandusky, now 82, has instructed his attorneys to skip a Sept. 8 hearing where Rittmeyer was expected to recant, and instead seek federal habeas relief. Sandusky says he cannot receive a fair hearing in Centre County. "Over the years I have brought 15 serious issues before Pennsylvania's courts, each one showing I deserve a new trial," Sandusky said in a voice recording provided to ESPN. "Every one was swatted down."

The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office called Rittmeyer's recantation "highly suspect" but did not elaborate when asked by ESPN.

Frank Parlato Jr., an investigator who has examined the Sandusky case for three years, believes investigators, prosecutors, and the local judiciary faced immense public pressure to charge and convict.

Two cases, same warning. When the stakes are power — political or institutional — truth becomes negotiable. Ross allegedly tried to weaponize drug charges to destroy a rival. Investigators in the Sandusky case allegedly pressured a witness into testimony he now says wasn't based on clear memory. In both instances, the machinery of justice became a tool, not a safeguard.

The question isn't whether these things happen. It's how often they happen to people without the resources to fight back.