Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz said Friday that the prosecution of former President Donald Trump over contesting the 2020 election “looks like banana republic land,” as President Joe Biden had apparently grown frustrated over the slow pace of the Department of Justice’s investigation.
Special Counsel Jack Smith secured a four-count indictment of Trump relating to his efforts to contest the results of the 2020 election, after initially having secured a 37-count indictment against Trump in June based on an investigation into allegations surrounding classified documents. The New York Times reported that Biden expressed frustration with the pace of the probe into Trump, telling close associates that Trump was a threat to democracy and needed to be prosecuted by the Justice Department.
When asked about the indictment by Fox Business Network host David Asman, Dershowitz said that Biden’s “urging” of Attorney General Merrick Garland to provide the indictment is an example of a leader trying to get rid of political opponents by way of the criminal justice system and is reminiscent of “banana republic land.”
“President Biden urged his attorney general to indict the man who he knew was going to be the leading opponent if against him,” Dershowitz said. “That begins to look like banana republic land. That’s what happens when people in power are afraid of the democratic process. What they do is they seek the indictment and prosecution of the people who are running against them.”
He further added that the choice of the District of Columbia as the venue for the trial, which he claimed was 95 percent anti-Trump, as well as the selection of a judge known for anti-Trump views, concerns him. “If the government thinks they have a strong case, they ought to join the defense and agree to move it to West Virginia or Virginia and put it in front of another judge who doesn’t have a long history of anti-Trump attitudes,” Dershowitz said.
Legal experts noted that much of the conduct Smith claimed was criminal in the indictment appeared to be protected by the First Amendment, as well as Trump’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel, and he was met with condemnation by his top rivals for the 2024 Republican nomination for president: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
This prosecution is not only a direct attack on Trump’s ability to exercise his rights and freedoms as guaranteed by the Constitution but also on the very nature of democracy itself.
If left unchecked, this banana republic-style prosecution of political rivals could set a dangerous precedent for future elections, making a mockery of democracy and silencing any dissent. The American people deserve to know whether or not the Jack Smith investigation is motivated purely by political considerations and not justice.
We should be grateful Garland never made it to the Supreme Court. After four years of his fraudulent incompetance, hopefully all can be reversed/corrected. In 2024 we must elect an administration with integrity otherwise we are permanently doomed.
Garland is a slimy little weasel. Afraid to stand up for the independence of the AG office and DOJ. When Biden says jump this little man will jump.
Goes Both ways OK Alan
Let the Dems Reap what they Sow