Former president Donald Trump called for supporters to rally as he is arraigned in Miami Tuesday, but the request elicited an unusual supporter who plans to conduct a press conference in advance of the arraignment on Tuesday.
Trump is facing 37 federal counts, including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, in relation to the discovery of classified documents at his resort in Mar-a-Lago in the summer of 2022. Trump is once again vying for president and, as the frontrunner for the Republican primary, has dominated the polls.
Amid becoming the first president to face federal criminal charges, Trump has doubled down on his innocence and his requests for support from his followers. His arraignment is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Tuesday at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Courthouse in Miami, and an unlikely ally plans to be in the vicinity.
Trump's 2024 Republican primary challengers have adopted varying positions on the former president's indictment, with many of them deeming the charges a "weaponization" of the federal government. However, 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has gone a step further in uncovering the details leading up to Trump's indictment and has scheduled a press conference on Tuesday morning, hours before Trump is set to be arraigned.
At the press conference, Ramaswamy plans to discuss his campaign's filing of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requesting all records and electronic communications between Department of Justice staff and any communications that DOJ staff sent to non-government third parties relating to Trump's indictment.
"Presidential candidates like me should not have to do the work of the captured news media. The #1 question that matters: what did Biden tell Garland & what did Garland tell Jack Smith. That's the real target," Ramaswamy told Newsweek in a statement. "This indictment selectively omits facts & law and reeks of politicization. The real question is whose invisible hand is guiding it. We will get to the bottom of it.
"It would be much easier for me to win this election if Trump weren't in the race, but I stand for principles over politics. I commit to pardon Trump promptly on January 20, 2025 and to restore the rule of law in our country," he added.
Ramaswamy announced the FOIA and the press conference in a tweet published on Monday morning.
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
Ramaswamy has mostly evaded Trump's wrath as tensions heat up between Republican contenders. The former president has directed most of his verbal assaults against his top contender, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and his former vice president Mike Pence, both of which also have announced 2024 presidential campaigns.
Trump has even commended Ramaswamy's campaign performance thus far, saying he was "pleased" to see the longshot candidate tying Pence in the polls, according to a report by The Hill.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign by email for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more
