With the clock ticking until former President Donald Trump makes what could be a major announcement, “The View” co-host Joy Behar believes the Justice Department should indict him.
“Now that Trump is a wounded animal, this is the exact time when Merrick Garland should swoop in and indict him,” Behar said on Wednesday.
Co-host Sunny Hostin chimed in to argue the former president is apparently announcing another White House run to avoid an indictment.
“That’s exactly why he’s announcing. Already Merrick Garland is a day late and a dollar short. He should have done that this morning before this guy announces,” Behar responded. “But he didn’t do it yet, which makes it look political. Which is what Merrick Garland was trying to avoid.”
Hostin pushed back by suggesting it would take time to build “four to five cases” against Trump.
Behar asked, “So how about one before the announcement? One.”
Watch the video below:
Joy says Trump is "a wounded animal " and demands Garland to "swoop in and indict him" before his announcement.
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) November 15, 2022
"Already [Garland] is a day late and a dollar short. He should have done that this morning," she sneered.
Sunny says "he needs time" to build 4-5 cases against Trump. pic.twitter.com/AFyZ5s25NA
However, Hostin pushed back as she said, “He’s gotta look at everything because if you bring a case against Donald Trump…you gotta win it, it’s gotta stick.”
The exchange comes as Trump is scheduled to make an announcement at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, which is expected to reveal his plan to run again.
Rushing to indict him hours before he announces a presidential run is not going to make the decision look apolitical.
In fact, there really is no time when the indictment of a former president would not appear political at least to some section of America — especially if the charge is about his handling of classified information.
There likely is a caveat to that, which if a charge was in response to an action that was unambiguously a violation of the law — for example murdering someone on Fifth Avenue in broad daylight — then it probably would not be seen as a political prosecution.
But there are certainly times when indicting a presidential candidate could appear more political such as right before or after they announce their campaign, after they secure the party’s nomination, and shortly before the general election.
But rushing to indict Trump is not the answer. For the sake of its reputation, the Justice Department cannot afford to rush to an indictment and then fail to get a guilty verdict.
If prosecutors are looking to indict him, then they should make sure they have an air-tight case before moving forward even if it takes longer.
Failing to get a guilty verdict in such an unprecedented case could be worse than not indicting him or even winning their case. It would give Trump and his allies more latitude to claim the Justice Department is politicized and out to get him.
