Former President Trump said it is impossible for him to get fair trial in Washington, D.C., where he is slated to appear in court Thursday in connection to his federal indictment in the 2020 election investigation.
Instead, Trump suggested that the case be moved to West Virginia.
“The latest Fake ‘case’ brought by Crooked Joe Biden & Deranged Jack Smith will hopefully be moved to an impartial Venue, such as the politically unbiased nearby State of West Virginia!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post late Wednesday.
“IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial in Washington, D.C., which is over 95% anti-Trump, & for which I have called for a Federal TAKEOVER in order to bring our Capital back to Greatness,” he continued. “It is now a high crime embarrassment to our Nation and, indeed, the World. This Indictment is all about Election Interference!!!”
One of Trump’s attorneys, John Lauro, also floated moving the case to West Virginia in an interview with NPR on Wednesday. He said instead of D.C., Trump’s legal team is looking for a “more diverse area that has a more balanced jury pool.”
“You know, the country is very, very divided politically right now; this is a very divisive indictment,” Lauro said. “It goes to issues of free speech and political activity. So, we’re looking for a jury that will be more balanced. And West Virginia was a state that was more evenly divided”
“And we’re hoping for a jury that doesn’t come with any implicit or explicit bias or prejudice. So it makes sense to go to a place like West Virginia,” he added.
President Biden carried D.C. with more than 92 percent of the vote during the 2020 election. In West Virginia, Trump won the state with more than 68 percent of the vote in 2020.
The former president was indicted Tuesday by a Washington grand jury on four charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The 45-page indictment from the Justice Department contends that the former president engaged in a campaign of “dishonesty, fraud and conceit” to obstruct a “bedrock function” of a democracy.
He is expected to appear in court Thursday afternoon for his arraignment.