Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on March 03, 2023 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
OAN’s Taylor Tinsley 4:06 PM – Wednesday, August 2, 2023
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has sued the Department of Justice over President Trump’s recent indictments.
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Ramaswamy filed suit on Tuesday, saying the DOJ failed to respond to his Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking more information over Trump’s classified documents indictment in June. He also filed a separate FOIA request over the former President’s January 6th indictment, which was handed down by a Washington grand jury on Tuesday.
“FOIA requires federal agencies to respond to a valid request within 20 working days (exempting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after receipt of such request, including notifying the requestor immediately of its determination, the reasons therefore, and the right to appeal any adverse determination,” the filing stated. “As of July 12, 2023, at the close of business hours, 20 working days had passed since DOJ received the Campaign’s FOIA Request.”
The GOP presidential hopeful, who’s running against Trump, said the indictments are based on “unprecedented legal theory.” Ramaswamy argued that in the 2012 Supreme Court case of U.S. v. Alvarez, justices held that it’s a candidates First Amendment right to knowingly make inaccurate statements.
I just filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice following its failure to substantively respond to my Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to uncover what White House officials including President Joe Biden communicated to Merrick Garland & Jack Smith about the… pic.twitter.com/7MPaLYrqHB
He also said the indictments “selectively omit relevant facts and law.” Ramaswamy lamented that special counsel Jack Smith has created a dangerous precedent by labeling Trump’s lawyers as co-conspirators and criminalizing their behavior, which in turn jeopardizes the future of the legal system.
President Trump was indicted in a third case on Tuesday, in his alleged effort to overturn results of the 2020 election.
Former federal prosecutor, Sarah Krissoff, told Reuters on Wednesday that Trump’s latest indictment could take a number of years to resolve.
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“Most federal cases resolve before trial…but given what’s at stake here, who the defendant is here, these cases certainly seem to be heading towards trial,” Krissoff said. “If this case were to go to trial, that is essentially, you know, high level officials from the Vice President on down testifying in federal court. I mean, what that trial looks like is really mind boggling.”
Trump’s Stormy Daniel hush money case in New York is due to start in March 2024, with the classified documents trial in Florida scheduled for May. Both criminal trials will kick off during the campaign season, but whether Trump’s trial over the election indictment will occur the same year remains unclear.
Trump is scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington on Thursday.
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