Trump’s federal indictment is a ‘devastating erosion of trust’ says Rep. Mike Waltz

GOP Representative Mike Waltz calls the “dual treatment” of Trump’s Justice Department versus Democrats Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton over their alleged mishandling of classified documents “ridiculous” as the former president is set to face charges on Tuesday of 37 points.

Trump will appear before a federal judge in Miami, Florida, at 3 p.m. ET today. Law enforcement officers are preparing for up to 50,000 protesters outside the courthouse.

The Florida congressman told DailyMail.com that the damning federal indictment issued last week by Special Counsel Jack Smith will help Trump “politically” with his base.

However, Waltz said there is a huge difference between how the DOJ treats Trump and how it treated Hillary Clinton for her missing emails — she never filed charges against her for destroying more than 30,000 emails — and the current investigation by Special Counsel Rob Hur into President Biden’s classified documents found at the Penn Biden Center and at his home in Delaware.

“So many of his followers, so many of my constituents, and not just Republicans across the board from the political sphere, say this is hypocrisy, this is two-level justice. The erosion of trust is simply devastating,” he continued.

He also pointed to the 2020 letter from 51 intelligence officers falsely dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop as Russian “misinformation” as an example of bipartisan justice.

Waltz warned, if the DOJ can do this to Trump, “they can do this to any American.”

He also raised allegations that “go back further” when former President Bill Clinton’s national security adviser Sandy Berger broke into the National Archives and stuffed original classified documents into his sock before destroying them “behind a dumpster.”

All he got was a “blow on the wrist,” Waltz said.

Berger pleaded guilty in 2005 to destroying secret documents he had taken from the National Archives with a pair of scissors. Based on his plea deal, Berger did not serve any jail time and instead paid a $100,000 fee.

“I don’t think President Trump had a bonfire of classified documents in the back or hammers, you know, to destroy devices like Hillary did,” he continued.

“It’s just laughable if it wasn’t so serious.”

Republicans also object to the FBI for not handing over an FD-1023 form, which they say shows Biden President Biden is getting $5 million from a Ukrainian individual in exchange for policy decisions.

“If this is all Malarkey, as Biden says it is, and there shouldn’t be a problem with transparency,” Waltz said.

“Transparency is always key, especially when you say you didn’t do anything wrong,” he added.

Monday night, Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, revealed that the director of Burisma who allegedly paid Joe Biden the bribe kept 17 audio recordings of telephone conversations as an ‘insurance policy’.

Biden has dismissed reports of an internal FBI form FD-1023 apparently outlining the “arrangement” for an exchange of money for policy decisions between then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreigner.

Trump has quashed the indictment, calling it a “political hit job” and lashing out at Special Counsel Smith.

“They took one load, and they made it 36 ​​different times. And we have a thug in charge. This is a political hit,” Trump said during a speech over the weekend at the Republican state convention in Georgia.

“Republicans are treated very differently in the Justice Department than Democrats,” he continued.

Even if Trump theoretically became a convicted felon or went to jail, he wouldn’t be legally barred from running for president.

And he could even pardon himself if he wins the 2024 general election.

As of June 9, Trump is still the poll favorite among Republican candidates—with a 32-point lead over runner-up Ron DeSantis.

Waltz, who also serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), looks forward to holding the FBI accountable.

HPSCI members had a closed-door meeting Monday night with FBI Director Chris Wray.

Waltz told DailyMail.com he planned to ask Wray about the “misconduct we’ve seen at the FBI,” including in Special Counsel John Durham’s report released last month accusing the agency of its handling of the Trump-Russia investigation.

He specifically wanted to bring attention to Wray about how his FBI is treating us with Trump’s case with classified documents compared to Biden’s case.

I want to know “why the agency really handled what was going on with Biden with velvet gloves,” including “extensive meetings with lawyers” before conducting a search of the sitting president’s residences.

That contrasts with the “sirens wail, guns drawn” when it came to the FBI’s August 2022 raid on Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida home.

“And so just and explain this dueling treatment to me,” he said.

Waltz is also part of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Republicans urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to release a “deviant telegram” about Afghanistan’s disastrous 2021 withdrawal.

“I said the same with the study in Afghanistan. Why should we threaten to despise the Secretary of State if it was an extraordinary success? Release the documents.’

Blinken has agreed to allow committee members to read the document in a secure facility at the State Department, but will not allow it to be made public.

R-Texas Chairman Michael McCaul is still considering contempt of Congressional charges against Blinken if he fails to comply with the full subpoena.