House

Swalwell argues Trump being treated ‘better’ than normal criminal defendants

by Tara Suter - 01/13/24 1:51 PM ET

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) took a swing at former President Trump Friday, arguing that despite his myriad of legal woes, the former president is being treated “better” than normal criminal defendants.

“Donald Trump is not being treated worse than any criminal defendant. “He is being treated, actually, better,” Swalwell said Friday in an interview with MSNBC’s Katie Zhang. “In fact, most defendants would be in custody and have their bail revoked if they acted the way that Donald Trump has acted.”

“In the last year, this tapestry of accountability has been stitched together from the criminal cases to the civil cases,” he added, referring to Trump’s various trials. “And it, I think, creates kind of this security blanket for our rule of law and, and for our democracy.

Trump is currently facing a total of 91 criminal charges spread among four state and federal criminal indictments. Separately, he is also a party in more than a half-dozen civil lawsuits, including the New York civil fraud trial, which wrapped up this week, and state’s attempts to ban the former president, who is currently the GOP front-runner in the presidential race, from primary ballots.

Colorado and Maine both disqualified Trump from their primary ballots last month, citing the 14th Amendments insurrection clause — which prohibits anyone who has taken an oath of office to defend the Constitution from engaging in a rebellion against the U.S. government. They argued that Trump’s alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on the Capitol is a violation of the clause.

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Trump appealed both cases, and the Supreme Court agreed earlier this month to look into the Colorado case.

Not saying whether he agreed to disagreed with the 14th Amendment challenges, Swalwell said the ballot box would determine Trump’s political fate.

“The sweetest victory, the redemption for our democracy, is going to be when the American people — particularly in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and Arizona — show up and beat him at the ballot box,” the lawmaker told Zhang on “The Last Word.”

“That’s where we’re going to bury MAGAism,” he added, pointing to the Trump campaign’s “Make America Great Again” motto, and hitting Republicans for being a party that would “rather rule than govern.”

But, he acknowledged, no one can control the pace of the judicial system. Several of Trump’s trials will coincide with the 2024 election — where Swalwell said Trump will receive “American justice,” from a jury of his peers.

His comments come as the Iowa caucuses are set to take place on Monday, marking the first step in the GOP’s nomination process.

The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average in Iowa shows Trump leading with 54.4 percent support, followed by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 17.4 percent and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 15.9 percent.