Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, a 2024 candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, decried the prospect of former President Donald Trump being indicted.
“A Trump indictment would be a national disaster. It is un-American for the ruling party to use police power to arrest its political rivals,” Ramaswamy tweeted on Saturday.
He made a reference to the 2004 presidential election in which Democrat John Kerry lost to George Bush and his running mate Dick Cheney.
“If a Republican prosecutor in 2004 had used a campaign finance technicality to arrest then-candidate John Kerry while Bush & Cheney were in power, liberals would have cried foul – and rightly so,” Ramaswamy said. “Principles go beyond partisanship.”
Prosecutors should apply the same standards as they would to anyone else: this wouldn’t have been a criminal prosecution in any other case (a misdemeanor at most). No doubt about it. Our entire country is skating on thin ice right now & we cannot afford to politicize the justice… https://t.co/fOWWPzgqGN
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) March 18, 2023
Recent reports said law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal levels are preparing for Trump to be indicted as early as next week as part of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into hush money payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election cycle.
If Trump is indicted, it would be the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been charged with a criminal offense. Trump denies any wrongdoing and claims he is being targeted by a political witch hunt. He called on supporters to protest.
Ramaswamy, dubbed the “CEO of Anti-Woke Inc.,” announced a presidential bid in February. The millionaire investor and author has placed a focus on tackling a “national identity crisis” at a time when he says faith, patriotism, and family are disappearing.
Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis top early polling for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, but current and prospective GOP competitors have voiced opposition to an indictment shaking up the race.
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“It just feels like a politically charged prosecution here. And I, for my part, I just feel like it’s just not what the American people want to see,” former Vice President Mike Pence told ABC News.
In a similar vein, Ramaswamy argued that voters, not a prosecutor, should “decide who governs” the country.
“This will mark a dark moment in American history and will undermine public trust in our electoral system itself. I call on the Manhattan District Attorney to reconsider this action and to put aside partisan politics in service of preserving our Constitutional republic,” Ramaswamy said.
“Prosecutors should apply the same standards as they would to anyone else: this wouldn’t have been a criminal prosecution in any other case (a misdemeanor at most),” he added. “No doubt about it. Our entire country is skating on thin ice right now & we cannot afford to politicize the justice system or else we will reach our breaking point.”