Former U.S. Attorney Accuses Trump of ‘Abusing the System’ by Using Legal Avenues Afforded to Him as Defendant

EXCERPT:

VANCE: “There's this notion of protecting political leaders from the criminal justice system being weaponized, something Republicans are throwing around these days without much basis for it, but we don't want to be that Banana Republic, where the criminal justice system becomes a tool of the White House or a tool of political people. That I think is why prosecutors were right to go slow early on. They were breaking fresh ground. They wanted to ensure that before they investigated a candidate than a sitting president, that they crossed every I and dotted every T, and that was frankly the right decision. But on the other side of the equation, is the way that Donald Trump uses the system against itself. And once it becomes clear that he's abusing the system for -- for delay, to avoid facing courts, then I think the judges and prosecutors have to kick in and -- and do frankly, what they did in Manhattan, hold that defendant's feet to the fire, say as Jack Smith has said in the Washington D.C. prosecution, you know, the public has a speedy trial right too, and try to get the equation so that everyone's rights, both the defendant's and the public's are respected."