On Tuesday, 2024 GOP Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy announced he had filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) following its failure to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
These requests seek to uncover what White House officials, including Joe Biden, communicated to Attorney General Merrick Garland and DOJ official Jack Smith regarding the indictments in the high-profile cases of former U.S. President and one of Biden’s 2024 Presidential election rivals, Donald J. Trump.
In a Twitter post, Ramaswamy announced that he would also file a separate FOIA request with the DOJ to investigate similar communications related to the Jan 6 Trump indictment.
He emphasized the importance of accountability and transparency, particularly given the Supreme Court’s ruling in U.S. v. Alvarez that protects political candidates’ right to knowingly make inaccurate statements.
“In U.S. v. Alvarez, the Supreme Court held that political candidates have a First Amendment right to knowingly make inaccurate statements. If you’re going to indict a former president and leading presidential candidate, it better not be based on unprecedented legal theory. Further, it’s more than a stretch to call something criminal if someone is seeking legal counsel from their own lawyers,” said Vivek.
In an interview with Laura Ingraham on Tuesday night, Ramaswamy criticized the indictment and described the legal theories being employed as unprecedented and flimsy. He said that it “sets an awful precedent” and characterized the indictment as “going full Banana Republic.”
Ramaswamy also alluded to concerns over the choice of jurisdiction and judge in the case, highlighting connections that could indicate a lack of impartiality. He emphasized that the politicized nature of the indictments was detrimental to the country and that the public deserves transparency.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that the case was assigned to Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee. She has the dubbed as the “toughest punisher” of J6ers.
“It also goes to show why this choice of jurisdiction and venue matters deeply. And I think Jack Smith knows exactly what he’s doing. Laura, it just strikes me as the truth of the matter here. They are not going to stop until they get him going or get him coming,” said Vivek.
“And I say this as somebody who is running against Trump. I’m polling at third in the Republican primary. Now, it would be easier for me if Donald Trump were eliminated from the competition. That is not how any of us should want to win, because that is bad for this country. That is why I think it’s important for those of us competing against Trump to take a strong stand against these politicized indictments,” he added.
During the interview, Vivek revealed that he filed a lawsuit against the DOJ after his FOIA request was rebuffed without substantive response, and he plans to file a new FOIA request to further investigate the matter.
“Earlier this evening, I actually filed suit against the DOJ, following up on my earlier FOIA request, trying to get to the bottom of what Biden and Merrick Garland told Jack Smith. That is transparency the public really deserves here. I do not believe that this special veil of a special prosecutor is really as separate as they’re making it out to be,” said Vivek.
WATCH:
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
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) August 2, 2023
