By John Solomon, Just the News
In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s historic indictment, House Republicans are putting the finishing touches on legislation that would restrict state and local prosecutors from prosecuting current or former presidents by allowing such cases to be moved to federal court, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan told Just the News on Thursday.
Jordan said the lead legislation, spearheaded by fellow committee member Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.), would give America’s chief executives a venue change option.
Slated to be introduced this week, the bill, according to Jordan, “says if you have someone, a local DA, going to take on a former president and a current candidate and they go indict them, then that case automatically gets bumped to federal court, not some local or state court.”
Fry said his bill will be called the No More Political Prosecutions Act and would offer presidents and vice presidents, both former and current, the option to move their own civil or criminal cases from a state court to a federal court.
“Presidents and Vice Presidents are among the most visible politicians in the United States government — making them a target for rogue prosecutors looking to build up their profile and make a name for themselves on the political stage,” Fry’s office said. “Because of that threat, it’s important for Presidents and Vice Presidents to have the option to move their case to a federal court — where judges are confirmed by the U.S. Senate, serve in their role for life, and don’t need to win an election to keep their position.”
A second bill, offered by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), would prohibit prosecutors from using federal asset forfeiture funds to investigate presidents, something the Manhattan prosecutors who secured the indictment of Trump admit doing.
The No Federal Funds for Political Prosecutions Act prohibits state or local law enforcement agencies from using funds or property seized through asset forfeiture “to investigate or prosecute the President, Vice President, or a candidate for the office of President in a criminal case,” Biggs said.
Jordan said the bills are one of may reasons he has subpoenaed witnesses and demanded documents from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose 34-felony count indictment of Trump Republicans have called an abuse of power.
“We think this is federal election interference in the most important election we have, which is election for President of the United States,” Jordan said of Bragg’s Trump indictment.
Read the full article here: Trump backlash: House GOP unleashes legislation to block local prosecutions of presidents | Just The News
