Ron DeSantis, one of the Republicans running for president and the current governor of Florida, was questioned by Fox News anchor Jesse Watters about the impact on his campaign of Donald Trump’s potential legal troubles.
The governor faces a difficult decision over how to respond to the former president’s myriad legal issues when asked by “gotcha” media, much like all GOP candidates who want to stay in good graces with the former president. In a federal court, 37 counts have been brought against Trump for keeping official records after leaving office. He is also accused of manipulating business records in New York and is facing state charges there. He entered a guilty plea to all charges, and the GOP base continues to adore him because the country under him and his MAGA policies did better than almost any time in its history.
Trump claimed last week that Special Counsel Jack Smith had sent him a letter with specific recommendations regarding his conduct following the 2020 election, which he tried to rig by launching a campaign of pressure against GOP officials in the areas he lost. It is anticipated that Trump will soon be charged in that case.
DeSantis was questioned about the impending indictment during his appearance on Jesse Watters show on Tuesday.
Watters asked, “Sources say that [Attorney General Merrick] Garland’s DOJ is going to be indicting former President Trump on the Jan. 6 situation. Do you think that helps your campaign?”
DeSantis refused to respond and blasted these accusations:
I don’t think it’s good for the country. I think at the end of the day, look, if somebody commits a bonafide crime, like you rob a bank or whatever, high or low in status and society, you know, we have a rule of law.
But I think what they’re doing in this, is they are taking some of these old statutes from like Reconstruction Era, violation of rights or conspiracy against rights, and they’re stretching it to try to fit this conduct. That’s not good prosecution, generally. But when you have a politically charged situation, that makes it even more difficult to justify.
So, we don’t know with the reports. Hopefully, it’s not something that happens. I don’t think it’ll be good for the country, but if they do something with these flimsy charges, that is going to add to the fire.
The governor then declared that if he wins the presidency, he would remove Christopher Wray as FBI director.
WATCH:
Last week, comments made by DeSantis about Trump in relation to the violence at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, caused a social media uproar.
DeSantis asserted that Trump might have responded to the disturbance more “forcefully” during a press conference in South Carolina. DeSantis responded to Trump’s admission that he got a letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith informing him that he is the subject of a grand jury investigation into the events of January 6. DeSantis is challenging Trump and other GOP candidates for the Republican nomination for president.
“Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
DeSantis advocated against prosecuting Trump for his actions despite suggesting that he ought to have acted more that day.
“So look, there’s a difference between being brought up on criminal charges and doing things like, for example, I think it was shown how he was in the White House and didn’t do anything while, while things were going on. He should have come out more forcefully, of course, that. 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 know, you don’t have one side just constantly trying to put the other side in jail. And that unfortunately is what we’re seeing now,” DeSantis argued.
Team Trump lying once again and purposely taking @RonDeSantis out of context.
Here’s his full answer: “So look, there’s a difference between being brought up on criminal charges and doing things like, for example, I think it was shown how he was in the White House and didn’t do… https://t.co/Nhe7D6CSxV pic.twitter.com/h89QggvarG
— DeSantis War Room (@DeSantisWarRoom) July 18, 2023
Leftwing CNN’s report on the matter states that “A target letter from federal prosecutors to Trump makes clear that prosecutors are focused on Trump’s actions in the investigation into overturning the 2020 election – and not just of those around him who tried to stop his election loss.”
“Justice Department regulations allow for prosecutors to notify subjects of an investigation that they have become a target. Often a notification that a person is a target is a strong sign an indictment could follow, but it is possible the recipient is not ultimately charged. Those notifications aren’t required, but prosecutors have the discretion to notify subjects that they have become a target. Once informed, a target has the opportunity to present evidence or testify to the grand jury if they choose,” the outlet added. the site noted.
— VK (@vjeannek) July 18, 2023
You people are scumbags. I will write-in Trump’s name, before I would ever vote for this Paul-Ryan-POS-puppet you are trying to shove down our throats. Screw you and that socially awkward, girly-voiced traitor Ron DeSantis.
— Amy Moreno (@VivaLaAmes11) July 18, 2023
Trump claimed to have gotten the letter last Sunday and stated that he anticipates being detained as well as being charged.
This isn’t the win you think it is.
It just makes your boy look more like he supports the Jan 6 committe and their pack of lies.
You guys are REALLY bad at this.
— Joe Bidens Last Brain Cell (@BidensBrainCelI) July 18, 2023
Smith is also targeting Trump for the way he handled the sensitive papers that were discovered at Mar-a-Lago last year.
In June, Trump arrived in Miami for his arraignment for the case Smith, who was chosen by Biden’s Department of Justice, had filed against him. Via his attorneys, Trump entered a “not guilty” plea in the court.
The post Jesse Watters Sticks It to DeSantis On Looming Jan. 6 Trump Prosecution appeared first on The Republic Brief.
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