Regardless of what Americans think of Donald Trump, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina) wants people to understand the stakes involved with what Willis is doing.
Trial date set … 1 day before Super TuesdayWASHINGTON (AP) — A judge has set a March 4, 2024, trial date for Donald Trump in the federal case in Washington charging the former president with trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan's Monday decision denies a defense request to push the trial back until April 2026, about a year and a half after the 2024 election. The decision also sets the trial later than the January date proposed by special counsel Jack Smith's team. The trial would come the day before Super Tuesday. |
"They're coming after us next. It could be us next," Norman said on Washington Watch Friday. "What they're doing to Donald Trump is not right. It's not fair. Take a look at the timing of this thing (see sidebar). This started off in January or February of '21. This is 2023.
"Willis has made a fundraiser out of this to prosecute Trump and 18 others under the RICO statute which is racketeering. It's unbelievable, but that's why this election is so important," Norman told show host Jody Hice.
Racketeering is typically associated with organized crime groups involving activities like blackmailing, extortion, kidnapping, trafficking and money laundering.
Jenna Ellis, a fellow indictee of Trump, was back on American Family Radio Monday morning.
She visited with Newsweek show host and syndicated conservative columnist Josh Hammer while describing with great detail what she saw as Willis' attempts to intimidate and humiliate Trump, herself and all who were required to turn themselves in and be booked in an Atlanta jail that's facing a population crisis and other problems.
"I was taken through this hallway, and it was literally like a movie. The Fulton County Jail is way overpopulated, and this is known and has been reported that it's like over twice its capacity. You have all these inmates … in cells who are banging on the walls, cat calling, saying really vile things and then walking into basically this pod of general population of men," Ellis said.
This was the perp walk she experienced leading up to the mug shot and fingerprints. Traditionally, the booking mug shot is necessary for law enforcement to help identify suspects or victims. In that regard, the mug shot was necessary for Donald Trump and many of the co-defendants.
Smiling through the perp walk
In contrast to Trump's highly publicized mug shot, the Ellis mug shot included a broad smile – and was followed by her determination to glorify Christ through the process.
"I will have joy and peace in all circumstances because it's true for the Christian that, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,'" she wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
Hammer said intentions of the experience for Trump, Ellis and all other co-defendants had one clear goal.
"This was just a flexing of the muscle, a demonstration of force, a proverbial announcement unto the world that, 'Here we are,' by Fani Willis, the Fulton County District Attorney, saying, 'I am going to make you bend to my will, and I am going to use taxpayer dollars to do so.' It's tragic in every way that this is where we are, but this is where we are," Hammer stated. "This was an exercise in public humiliation."
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee has decided that one good humiliation deserves another and announced last week that it will investigate Willis regarding her motives for prosecuting Trump.
While Republicans allege weaponization in Trump's Georgia indictment, Willis has been free and loose with her political leanings. A year ago, she was taken to task by an Atlanta judge over her support for Democrat Charlie Bailey in his campaign for lieutenant governor against Georgia State Senator Burt Jones.
Willis was investigating Jones for his role as one of 16 "fake" GOP electors who the investigation claims signed onto a plan to subvert the Electoral College in the 2020 presidential election.
Willis had hosted a fundraiser for Bailey and contributed to his campaign. Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney chastised Willis in open court calling her actions a "what are you thinking moment?"
"If we are trying to maintain confidence that this investigation is pursuing facts in a non-partisan sense, no matter who the district attorney is we follow the evidence wherever it goes, and ignore the fact that I've just hosted a political fundraiser for someone I've just named a target … that strikes me as problematic," said McBurney with the appropriate facial expressions.
Jones was not included in Willis' group of indictments in mid-August, but will be investigated by a special prosecutor.
Biden allegations not receiving equal treatment
Hammer described the Willis indictments as another example of the administration of President Joe Biden and those who support him using Department of Justice resources to suit their needs and preferences.
While Willis' investigation has gone on, House investigations have produced evidence that they say proves Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, received millions of dollars from foreign nationals influence-peddling schemes. Yet, there has been little coverage of the House findings by traditional media.
"In every which way the criminal prosecution, the weaponization of the federal law enforcement apparatus, we've seen the arrest of pro-life activists, we saw the Merrick Garland memo when it came to the critical race theory uprisings in October, November of 2021," Hammer noted.
The FBI has also targeted Catholic churches as a haven for alleged "domestic terrorism."
"This law enforcement apparatus is completely and entirely weaponized," Hammer argued.
