Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) said on Sunday, he thinks it would be “totally reasonable” for former President Trump to investigate President Biden if the presumptive GOP candidate is elected to a second term in the White House this November.
In an interview on NBC News's "Meet the Press," Vance responded to a clip of Trump from last year pledging to "appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family."
Vance, seen as a top contender to be Trump’s running mate, downplayed the significance of Trump’s threats and said media outlets make too much of that quote.
“Donald Trump is talking about appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Joe Biden for wrongdoing,” Vance said, in response to the video. “What Donald Trump is simply saying is we ought to investigate the prior administration.”
He accused Biden of doing “exactly that for the last few years,” and said, “I think Donald Trump saying, ‘Look, let's do the basic work of investigating wrongdoing’ is a totally reasonable thing for him to do.”
“And frankly, the Biden administration has done far worse. So, if you think that what Donald Trump is proposing is a threat to democracy, isn't what Biden has already done a massive threat to our system of law and government?” Vance said.
Attorney Gen. Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel, Jack Smith, to investigate Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He ultimately brought two indictments against the former president, one related to the election and another related to his retention of classified documents and obstruction of the government’s efforts to retrieve them.
There has been no evidence suggesting Biden or Democrats are directing the Department of Justice’s actions. The Justice Department has also been involved in the recent indictments of two Democrats, Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.) and Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas). A Justice special counsel also won a conviction recently against Hunter Biden, the president's son.
