The conservative presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has vowed that if he is elected president, he would pardon Donald Trump, should he be convicted of federal charges. He then challenged other Republican presidential candidates to sign a pledge to do the same.
Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who is struggling to gain traction in the GOP presidential primary, made the remarks at a press conference outside the Miami courthouse where Trump will be arraigned today.
In doing so, he turned the concept of nobody being “above the law” on its head, accusing President Joe Biden of using a police state to squash his political opponents.
“No one is above the law: the U.S. President shouldn’t be able to use the federal police to arrest his opponents,” Ramaswamy said in a press release.
“No one should be below the law either, yet there are now two standards of justice depending on your political viewpoints,” he added. “That’s the single greatest threat to our constitutional republic today.”
The letter was sent to every presidential candidate in both parties.
Outside the courthouse, Ramaswamy said other candidates are afraid to broach the topic but he refuses to be a “disciple of the donor class.”
“This is my commitment, on Jan 20th 2025, if I’m elected the next U.S. president, to pardon Donald J. Trump,” he declared. “I have demanded that every other candidate in this race either sign this commitment to pardon.”
JUST IN: Vivek Ramaswamy calls out Republican candidates for falling in line with the Democrats against Donald Trump while promising to sue the Biden administration.
It’s great to see that not all Republican candidates are falling in line with the Washington uniparty.
“The… pic.twitter.com/tEQZ2PSuFV
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 13, 2023
RELATED: Spineless: Only One GOP Candidate Vowed To Pardon Trump – And It Wasn’t Ron DeSantis
Vivek Ramaswamy Vows To Pardon Trump – Will Any Other Candidate Have The Guts To Do So?
Look, we’re not sure what the end game is here for Ramaswamy, but he’s certainly saying all the right things. Is he simply trying to hitch his cart to Trump in the hopes that this is his path to better polling numbers or a role in an eventual Trump administration?
Whatever it is – it works.
So far, he is the only candidate with the gumption to insist that he would pardon Trump for being a victim of a politically motivated prosecution.
In his first public promise to pardon Trump, Ramaswamy pointed out the two-tiered justice system for Republicans across the board, including the wrongly persecuted January 6th protesters.
“We can’t have two tiers of justice: one for Trump, another for Biden. One for Assange, another for Manning. One for BLM/Antifa, another for peaceful protesters on Jan 6,” he said.
“This is an affront to every citizen,” he continued. “We cannot devolve into a banana republic where the party in power uses police force to arrest its political opponents.”
[totalpoll id=”270734″]
Stopping politicians in power from taking out political opponents by having them jailed, as in a third-world country, seems like a pretty important hill to die on, Republicans.
We can’t have two tiers of justice: one for Trump, another for Biden. One for Assange, another for Manning. One for BLM/Antifa, another for peaceful protesters on Jan 6.
I never thought we’d see the day when the U.S. President deputizes the DOJ to arrest his lead rival in the…
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) June 9, 2023
RELATED: Siding With The Mob: Tim Scott And Nikki Haley Suddenly Change Their Tune On Trump Indictment
Demands Communications Between Justice Department And White House
Not only is Ramaswamy waving around pledges to pardon Trump, but he’s also taking steps that make it appear as if he’d be willing to investigate the weaponization of the Justice Department by the Biden White House.
Ramaswamy filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking communication between the White House and the Justice Department concerning the indictment of his presidential campaign rival.
The FOIA demands access to “*exactly* what the White House communicated to Merrick Garland & Jack Smith about the unprecedented indictment of a former U.S. President.”
“Every American deserves to know,” Ramaswamy added.
My campaign just filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) demand to uncover *exactly* what the White House communicated to Merrick Garland & Jack Smith about the unprecedented indictment of a former U.S. President & Biden’s disfavored opponent in this election. Every American… pic.twitter.com/bnwmn6jGYZ
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) June 12, 2023
Unfortunately, we have some experience with FOIA requests and know all too well that the government’s ability to stall by simply labeling the request for information “too broad” is a common tactic.
Again, Ramaswamy is saying the right things, but will he actually be doing the right things? It’s likely we’ll never know because he currently doesn’t have much of a chance to be President.
But we do like that he is trying to force the other Republican candidates to take a stand in one way or another.
I challenge every US Presidential candidate to join me in standing for TRUTH. Commit to pardon Donald Trump for these federal charges on Day 1, or explain why you won’t. No one should hide. Not Biden. Not DeSantis. Not Haley. Not Pence. Not RFK. Not Scott. Not anyone. Principles… pic.twitter.com/qYP3fUrE5R
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) June 13, 2023
Not only is Ramaswamy the only one to offer a pardon, but he’s the only one who seemingly is sticking to his guns even after the Trump indictment was unsealed last week.
Nikki Haley and Tim Scott, as The Political Insider reported earlier today, tucked tail faster than a Bud Light spokesperson and shifted their focus from a malicious prosecution of Trump to the seriousness of the allegations and how recklessly their rival had behaved.
Scott and Haley are likely a no on the pledge. Will anybody else stand up for what’s right? RFK? Ron DeSantis?
Only time will tell.
Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”