Republican 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy asked fellow contenders on both sides of the political aisle to pledge that, if elected, they will pardon former President Donald Trump on his federal indictment.
In a letter to other candidates Tuesday, Ramaswamy condemned the federal indictment of 37 charges regarding the mishandling of documents after Trump left office in 2021, and asked Republican and Democratic candidates to pledge that they will pardon Trump.
"Each of our paths to electoral success would be easier if President Trump were eliminated from competition, but that is the wrong result for our country," Ramaswamy wrote. "The fact that we are running against Trump gives us the credibility to denounce this politicized prosecution."
The letter was sent to Republican candidates, including former Vice President Mike Pence, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Larry Elder, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Perry Johnson, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
It was also sent to declared Democrat candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and author Marianne Williamson, but noticeably excluded Democrat President Joe Biden, who is running for reelection.
"If President Trump is prosecuted in a manner that effectively prevents him from running, this will permanently damage public trust in our electoral process and our justice system," the letter reads. "Whoever among us is elected, our job of reuniting the nation will become daunting — if not impossible."
Trump was also not included in the list of letter recipients.
"I challenge every U.S. presidential candidate to join me in standing for truth," Ramaswamy said in a Facebook post accompanying the letter. "Commit to pardon Donald Trump for these federal charges on Day 1 or explain why you won’t. No one should hide. Not Biden. Not DeSantis. Not Haley. Not Pence. Not RFK. Not Scott. Not anyone. Principles over politics."
Trump is the first American president to be indicted by a grand jury on federal charges, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
Trump was due in a Miami on Tuesday for his arraignment after Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith announced the indictment last week.
Trump is currently leading in polling for the GOP primary field in the 2024 race by more than 20 percentage points, with DeSantis coming in second place.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.