MILWAUKEE — Former President Donald Trump and his allies have faced felony prosecutions and suffered convictions and even jail time, but delegates at the Republican National Convention say they do not envision a Trump Justice Department hunting down political enemies.
Republicans have demanded accountability in the next GOP administration after they say Mr. Trump, his allies and his supporters faced a torrent of politicized legal attacks by a “weaponized” government.
But at the convention, Republicans said they didn’t want to see retribution if Mr. Trump wins another term in the White House.
Kelly Arnold, a delegate from Wichita, Kansas, said that he thinks another Trump administration should review cases that were not moved forward or prosecuted previously and see if there’s any credible evidence to go ahead and prosecute.
“The reality of it is we need to move this country forward and keep going,” Mr. Arnold said. “We don’t need to always play the same games that the Democrats have been doing, and we want to look to the future.”
Louisiana state Rep. Mike Bayham said he expected a Trump administration to stick to the law.
“If warranted, there should be prosecutions. We should follow the letter of the law,” he said. “If the individual committed a crime and it’s proven that the Department of Justice was negligent in their decision not to go forward with it, there should be prosecutions, but it shouldn’t be witch hunts like with the Democrats.”
The litany of federal probes and prosecutions against Trump figures include investigations related to Russian influence in his 2016 campaign, two impeachments, the prosecution of and imprisonment of his 2016 campaign advisers, the prosecution and imprisonment of his former administration officials and the prosecution and imprisonment of hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants.
Peter Navarro, a top adviser in the Trump White House, left federal prison Wednesday and went straight to the GOP convention, where he warned Republicans that they could be next if Democrats keep control of Washington.
“I went to prison so you wouldn’t have to,” he said from the convention stage. “I am your wake-up call.”
Mr. Navarro was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to testify to the Democratic-led House Jan. 6 committee. The Justice Department under President Biden prosecuted him and imprisoned him for four months in a federal prison in Miami.
Mr. Trump was convicted in May before a New York City jury on 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records, one of four different criminal prosecutions targeting Mr. Trump in various jurisdictions.
Mr. Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity last month that he would have every right to go after his political opponents based on what they did to him.
When psychologist Phil McGraw, during an interview, attempted to persuade Mr. Trump that seeking revenge as president would get in the way of his political goals, the former president responded, “Well, revenge does take time. I will say that,” Mr. Trump said.
“And sometimes revenge can be justified, Phil, I have to be honest. You know, sometimes it can.”
North Carolina state Sen. Ralph Hise said he thinks a Trump DOJ will end the policies of going after political opponents.
“We, the American people, tell them they’re not welcome in Washington D.C.,” he said “This ridiculous concept of trying to criminalize everything someone has done in office, I hope, is over in this country.”
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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