If prosecutors decide to indict Trump, they’ll wait until after the November midterms to do so: report – By Sonam Sheth (Business Insider) / Aug 31, 2022
- If DOJ decides to indict Trump, it will likely wait until after the midterms, Bloomberg reported.
- The move would be in accordance with longstanding policy that bars prosecutors from taking overt steps that could affect the outcome of an election.
- AG Merrick Garland also recently introduced new restrictions to “maintain public trust” in the DOJ.
If federal prosecutors decide to charge former President Donald Trump with a crime, they’ll wait until after the November midterm elections to do so, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Justice Department is currently investigating if Trump violated three federal laws, including the Espionage Act, when he improperly moved government records to Mar-a-Lago upon leaving office and resisted turning them over for more than a year after. Prosecutors are also said to be zeroing in on Trump as part of a separate, ongoing investigation into the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack and events surrounding it.
According to longstanding department policy, prosecutors are banned from taking overt investigative steps within 60 days of an election that could influence the outcome of a race or races.
That said, it’s unlikely prosecutors would have leveled charges against Trump before the midterms even if department policy didn’t bar it. Earlier this month, a top counterintelligence official at the DOJ told a federal magistrate judge that the investigation into Trump’s handling of government documents is still in its very preliminary stages.
