Former US Attorney General Bill Barr has recommended that the Department of Justice (DOJ) drop charges against President-elect Donald Trump in the “best interests” of the American people.
Trump, who won the 2024 election early Wednesday, is currently being indicted by special counsel Jack Smith on January 6, 2021, for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election and for storing classified documents in the presidential campaign. is facing two separate lawsuits filed by. Mar-a-Lago house. According to reports, Mr. Smith is in talks with the Justice Department about dropping the charges after Mr. Trump’s victory, but Mr. Barr said that should be done to focus on the American people.
“I think every case is a matter of discretion. Just because you can sue, or you think you can sue or put together a case, you have to pursue it. There’s no rule that says no. It’s always a question of what’s in the best interest of the country,” Barr said. “There is no question in my mind that it is in the best interest of the country for them to dismiss the case in this situation. We cannot proceed with this matter, even with litigation, because we do not want this kind of thing to distract the chief executive from doing the people’s business.”
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In May, a jury found 13 counts of falsifying business records to conceal $130,000 in hush money paid to former porn actress Stormy Daniels to prevent her from disclosing an alleged affair before the 2016 election. The president-elect was convicted of a crime. Judge Juan Melchan, who is overseeing the case, postponed the original September 18 sentencing date to November 26. (Related: Trump wins among independents despite criminal conviction: poll)
Barr said the case against Trump is “very weak” and would require years of litigation if authorities tried to revive it after Trump’s term.
“This is a very weak case,” Barr said. “After they were sued, their case was like Swiss cheese, with a number of appellate court decisions and Supreme Court decisions that essentially resolved the issue. These were not persuasive cases. If the president attempts to pursue the matter after he leaves office, it will likely lead to years of complicated litigation over legal principles. After all, as far as the public interest is concerned, it’s not worth exploiting.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was charged in August 2023 with violating Georgia’s Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act for allegedly trying to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. Trump was indicted on 18 charges. In June, the Georgia Court of Appeals put the case on hold over a pending case to determine whether to disqualify Willis over his alleged undisclosed affair with special counsel Nathan Wade.
Former attorney general calls Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James’ multimillion-dollar civil fraud lawsuit against Trump an “abhorrent act”, accusing Trump of overvaluing his assets and inflating his net worth. He said the case would never have been brought against anyone other than Mr. The next president. Mr. James said Wednesday that he “will continue to protect and defend the rights of New Yorkers,” and vowed to continue pursuing legal action against Mr. Trump.
Former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll has filed a separate civil lawsuit against Trump, accusing him of raping her and publicly defaming her in the mid-1990s. A jury in May 2023 found the president-elect liable for sexual assault and defamation of Carroll, but not for rape.
Barr said both James and Carroll’s lawsuits gave Trump “strength” and “backfired” on the people who filed the lawsuits.
“A lot of the votes that we’re seeing today, the level of voting that we’re seeing today is that people are tired of this nonsense,” Barr said. “It’s disgusting to see the legal system used this way.”
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