WASHINGTON — Amid former President Donald Trump's indictment on 37 criminal charges related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents, one of his newest and most vocal allies in Congress plans to defend him by taking the fight directly to the Biden administration.
In a video posted to Twitter Tuesday, Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance says he plans to put a hold on all future nominees to the Department of Justice. While this action itself will not prevent any such nominees from being confirmed, it would prevent them from receiving unanimous consent on the Senate floor, thereby dragging out the process as members would have to vote on each individual appointment.
"Donald Trump is merely the latest victim of a Department of Justice that cares more about politics than law enforcement," the Republican Vance claimed. "If Merrick Garland wants to use these officials to harass Joe Biden's political opponents, we will grind his department to a halt."
Vance did not address the substance of the allegations against Trump, who is accused of violating the Espionage Act and obstructing justice, among other things. Instead, the senator deflected to Garland and the DOJ, whom he says "harasses Christians for pro-life advocacy, but allows hardened criminals to walk our streets unpunished."
Vance and other critics of the DOJ claim Trump has received unfair treatment when compared to current President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who were also accused of mishandling classified material in one form or another. The FBI in 2016 found no evidence Clinton willfully broke any laws, while Biden has pledged cooperation with authorities as a special counsel investigates his case.
Trump is alleged to have deliberately misled investigators and withheld documents even after being asked to give them back, with such papers apparently including information on the U.S.'s nuclear and defense capabilities. A separate special counsel, Jack Smith, brought his findings to a Florida grand jury, which elected to hand down an indictment against the 45th president.
Regarding his statements about the FBI and Christians, Vance was partly referring to a since-retracted FBI memo which indicated "radical traditionalist" Catholics had growing ties to "anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT and white supremacy" ideologies. Jesuit publication America Magazine later spoke to two former bureau agents who were also administrators in the Church, and while both criticized the document for its opinionated nature, they agreed it could only be labeled as research that "does not point to any actual F.B.I. investigation underway that unfairly targets Catholics."
A former hedge fund manager and bestselling author, Vance once denounced Trump as "America's Hitler" before completely changing his tune during his U.S. Senate run, even refusing to push back on the former president's lies that the 2020 election was "stolen" from him. Trump was impressed by the about face and endorsed Vance in the GOP primary, helping propel him to eventual victory in the November election.
According to Vance's office, the holds will not apply to nominees for the United States Marshals Service. Earlier rumors on social media indicated Vance's effort had the support of Republican Senate Minority Whip John Thune, but NBC News' Sahil Kapur has since confirmed that is false, with Thune's office calling the report "bogus."
Should Vance follow through on his threats to slow down the nomination process, it could have an impact in his own state, as President Biden has recently tapped Rebecca Lutzko to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. Lutzko has been sworn into office on an interim basis, with the Senate still required to confirm her to the full-time position. Both Vance and Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown supported her appointment.
Trump appeared in federal court for his arraignment Tuesday, pleading not guilty to all charges against him.
