Jonathan Turley: Trump indictment is a ‘weaponization’ of the criminal justice system for political reasons
Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley says in trying Trump for Stormy Daniels case, the Manhattan district attorney is litigating a federal crime that the federal government did not deem necessary to bring to court.
In the burgeoning field of actual and potential Republican presidential candidates challenging former President Donald Trump for the 2024 nomination, no one has been more outspoken the past couple of days over the looming Trump indictment than Vivek Ramaswamy.
But the best-selling author, conservative commentator and culture wars crusader says that he "absolutely" disagrees with Trump’s call for his supporters to take to the streets to protest any indictment.
The former president faces an indictment from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for alleged involvement in hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016, to keep her quiet ahead of that year’s election over her claims she had sexual encounters with Trump.
Ramaswamy reiterated in an interview with Fox News Digital on Monday that "I think it would be a national disaster if he [Trump] were indicted on these politicized prosecution grounds and I do not want to see that happen because I think it would be bad for this country. I think it would take a very long time to re-earn, if ever, the trust that we would lose in our justice system, even in our electoral system, if that happens."
LOOMING TRUMP INDICTMENT MAY BE DONE VIRTUALLY
Vivek Ramaswamy departs after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2023, Friday, March 3, 2023, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. ((AP Photo/Alex Brandon))
But asked about Trump’s call for supporters to protest, Ramaswamy emphasized "I absolutely do not want to see protests in the streets."
"I am very worried. I think we are skating on thin ice as a country right now," he lamented. "It’s a big part of why I’m in this race."
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Ramasamy, a 37-year-old self-made multi-millionaire entrepreneur and the son of immigrants from India who’s made "reviving the missing national unity" a centerpiece of his month-old presidential campaign, argued that "a former President of the United States being indicted on politically motivated grounds…would be a giant leap towards a national divorce."
The candidate emphasized that "I think those of us who are running against him [Trump] actually have the most credibility to call on a Manhattan DA to abandon a politicized prosecution so we can actually take our best chance of diverting this national disaster."
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event Monday, March 13, 2023, in Davenport, Iowa. (AP Photo/Ron Johnson) (AP )
And over the weekend Ramaswamy urged former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who declared her candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination last month, and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who remains in the 2024 sidelines but is likely to launch a White House campaign later this year, to speak out against the looming indictment of Trump.
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DeSantis, at a news conference on Monday, heavily criticized Bragg over the likely indictment and charged that district attorney was "pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office."
But the governor also emphasized "I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. I can’t speak to that,"
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to Iowa voters on March 10, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
And DeSantis added that "I’ve got real issues I’ve got to deal with here in the state of Florida."
Asked about DeSantis’ comments, Ramaswamy took aim at the Florida governor, claiming it was "scripted, focus-grouped," and a "carefully manufactured manicured statement that’s designed to appease a base."
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Ramaswamy called DeSantis "a fantastic governor" but taking a shot at a potential rival for the nomination, he charged that the governor has "an absence of courage that I think we need in the White House."
DeSantis political aides declined to respond to the jabs from Ramaswamy.
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