(PresidentialInsider.com)- If the Department of Justice were to decide to move forward with a potential criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump, GOP lawmakers are promising it will end up being a huge political battle.
As such, Merrick Garland, the Biden administration’s attorney general, will have quite the high bar to cross before deciding to formally bring charges against Trump. He would be forced to make that decision if the House’s special committee investigating the incidents of January 6, 2021, refers a case of criminal charges against Trump to him.
Last week, members of the House committee foreshadowed that they would eventually do just that.
If they move forward with that plan, though, many GOP strategists and lawmakers say it’s likely to be accused by Trump and others of being motivated by politics, which could eventually lead to Trump receiving a huge boost within the party.
In the end, that could ultimately spell doom for President Joe Biden and Democrats heading in the midterm elections later this year and the presidential election in 2024.
Indiana Republican Senator Mike Braun recently said that if the House committee were to refer Trump for criminal prosecution, it “would probably have as much political taint on it as you can get. To me, it’s clearly politically driven.”
The senator also said he believed Democrats were currently scrambling to try to change the narrative as Biden’s approval ratings continue to plummet. Brain also said a federal prosecution attempt of Trump would clearly be viewed along political party lines. He continued:
“At least half the country would say it’s all politically motivated.”
Thom Tillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina, further explained that “the Department of Justice has a high bar” they must clear before formally proceeding with charges against Trump. In addition, he said the process by which members of the House committee were selected clouds how it’s viewed.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had two of his picks to serve on the committee blocked by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She then chose instead to name two GOP members of the House to the committee — Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, both who have been outspoken against Trump.
As Tillis explained of the January 6 committee:
“I don’t mind looking into the events but I think that Speaker Pelosi did not do the process justice by the way the members were ultimately seated. It’s going to be perceived as political.
“Everybody is going to perceive the referral as a conviction on one side and they’re going to view it as the continuation of a witch hunt on the other side. The bar that the House committee has is far lower than anything that would ultimately result in moving forward with a federal investigation and a conviction.”
And those who are close to Trump are saying that there will be a monumental battle in court and in the media should the DOJ decide to move forward with criminal charges.
It’s certainly something Garland and his team are aware of, and will likely consider before moving forward with charges.
