The DPP accused the judicial authorities of a power grab, claiming that they have been arresting people right and left to obtain statements. In fact, the authorities detained two DPP county magistrates, Chiayi's Chen Ming-wen and Yunlin's Su Chih-fen, around the same time as Chen. Though these cases are independent of one another, the detentions have fueled DPP claims of politicization.
民進黨指控司法單位肆意擴權、動輒「押人取供」，而包括嘉義縣長陳明文與雲林縣長蘇治芬等兩位民進黨縣長亦被同時收押，雖然他們的案件各自獨立，與扁案沒有關連，但仍給民進黨「只辦綠不辦藍」、「選擇性辦案」的訴求空間。