Vivek Ramaswamy demands all communication between White House and Justice Department ahead of Trump impeachment: 2024 hopeful files legal request after vow to pardon ex-president
- The 37-year-old Republican presidential candidate is taking legal action to gain access to all documents related to Trump’s indictment
- He has filed a so-called Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain more details about how the former president’s affairs are being handled
- Ramaswamy says he will pardon the real estate tycoon if his long-running campaign for the White House is successful
Republican presidential nominee Vivek Ramaswamy wants the US government to release all exchanges between the White House and the DOJ regarding its classified documents case against Donald Trump.
Ramaswamy on Monday (June 12) filed a request known as a Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, demanding officials turn over those files.
The 37-year-old entrepreneur said through a lawyer that the indictment against the ex-commander-in-chief “raises serious concerns that DOJ is being politicized and armed against the political opponents of the incumbent president of the United States.”
Ramaswamy, seen here at the Iowa Roast and Ride event on June 3, has filed a FOIA request demanding the US government release all files related to the Trump indictment
Trump has repeatedly labeled the string of lawsuits he faces a ‘witch hunt’
His legal team said they wanted full details of what the White House said Attorney General Merrick Garland and Special Counsel Jack Smith about the indictment that contains no fewer than 37 charges against the former president.
Trump will appear in court in Miami on Tuesday (June 13) in what marks the first-ever federal criminal charge against a former US president.
“Every American deserves to know,” Ramaswamy said.
The self-described “anti-woke” activist told CNN on Sunday that he was “even more convinced” he would have to pardon the real estate tycoon if he won the 2024 presidential election.
In a tantalizing exchange with Dana Bash of the leftist network, Ramaswamy accused the host of failing to address the Biden administration about whether they had instructed the DOJ to go after Trump.
“The most important question we really should be asking is, what did Biden say to Merrick Garland? What did Merrick Garland tell Jack Smith?’ Ramaswamy said, deriding the charge as “deeply politicized.”
“This is selective prosecution. I find it irresponsible not to include any treatment of those facts or laws in this indictment. It smacks of politicization, which is why I want to go back to the most important question the media should really be asking,” he told the stunned CNN host.
Trump faces a 37-count criminal record in connection with alleged mishandling of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
These include withholding classified information, obstructing justice and making false statements, among other alleged crimes.
Bill Barr, who served as attorney general under Trump’s presidency, thinks the real estate magnate could ‘toast’ if charges hold up in court
Bill Barr, Trump’s attorney general from February 2019 to December 2020, warned his former boss would be “toasts” if the charges hold up in court.
“I was shocked by the level of sensitivity of these documents and how many there were… and I think the counts under the Espionage Act that he deliberately withheld those documents are solid counts,” he said in an interview with Fox News .
“If even half is true, then it’s toast. It’s a very detailed indictment and it’s very damning,” the former Trump administration official added.
Joe Biden said Friday that he had not spoken to Attorney General Merrick Garland about Trump’s latest legal woes and had no plans to do so.
“I haven’t spoken to him at all and I’m not going to talk to him,” Biden said when asked by a reporter if he wanted to speak with the attorney general.
The Code of Federal Regulations states that any special counsel must have “a reputation for integrity and impartial decision-making.”
The rules also call for “an informed understanding of criminal law and Justice Department policies.”