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Law professor and former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance is warning Republicans, namely GOP presidential candidates, to think twice before going all-in on defending Donald Trump. The ex-president announced just hours ago announced he has been informed he is a “target” in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s grand jury investigation into his alleged actions attempting to overturn the 2020 election, including the events surrounding the January 6 insurrection.
Trump has not been arrested or indicted, although he said he fully expects to be shortly.
There is no indication any charges have been filed, so no one knows what those charges will be – assuming Trump is indeed indicted at some point. And yet GOP politicians, especially House Republicans, are flocking to microphones, cameras, and social media to defend the likely soon-to-be charged again former president.
Also rushing to defend the ex-president is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is currently Trump’s top challenger – although in second place by 26 to 40 points according to some polls.
DeSantis, who holds a Harvard law degree and was a Navy JAG lawyer, falsely characterized Trump’s actions as he rushed to defend the ex-president on Tuesday – despite not even knowing what the likely charges will be.
“Criminal charges is not just because you may have done something wrong, it’s did you behave criminally, and I think what we’ve seen in this country is an attempt to criminalize politics and to try to criminalize differences,” DeSantis told reporters in South Carolina (video below).
“DeSantis,” USA Today reports, “then repeated his belief that the FBI and Department of Justice have been politicized and ‘weaponized.’”
“Responding to a follow up question about whether ‘Trump’s actions were wrong on Jan. 6,’ DeSantis said: ‘I think it was shown how he was in the White House and didn’t do anything while things were going on, he should have come out more forcefully, of course.’”
“But to try to criminalize that, that’s a different issue entirely and I think that we want to be in a situation where you don’t have one side just constantly trying to put the other side in jail,” DeSantis added, appearing to falsely suggest that Democrats are attempting to prosecute and jail Republicans.
Trump ran his 2016 campaign in large part on a “lock her up” theme, as he denounced Hillary Clinton for what he claimed was criminal mishandling of classified documents. Trump is currently facing 37 federal charges, 31 of which are for violating the Espionage Act by allegedly mishandling classified documents.
“Prediction,” Vance, who is also an MSNBC/NBC News legal analyst, wrote via social media. “Jack Smith evidence, or what we see of it in his indictment, will be much stronger than people are anticipating. GOP presidential contender who continue to shill for Trump will be forced to do an about face, perhaps not immediately, but it’s coming.”
Watch DeSantis below or at this link.
“I think what we’ve seen in this country is an attempt to criminalize politics.”
— Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) reacts to Trump claiming he was informed about being a target in the DoJ’s January 6th investigation. pic.twitter.com/6UbPcep4Ll
— The Recount (@therecount) July 18, 2023
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