Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance blasted Attorney General Todd Blanche for shrugging off grand juries’ repeated refusals to indict President Donald Trump’s foes.
In an interview with Dan Abrams released Thursday, Blanche acknowledged that a Washington grand jury refused to indict the “Seditious Six,” the six Democratic lawmakers who released a video urging service members to refuse illegal orders. He insisted such failures are routine.
“You’re right that the D.C. grand juries have not returned indictments. It happens in any administration regularly,” Blanche said. “… I think that there have been no true bills throughout generations in highly political cases.”
The interview came shortly after Trump revived his demand on Truth Social that the lawmakers be charged.
On MS NOW, host Alicia Menendez said “the hallmark of Trump’s weaponized DOJ cases” is “that they keep failing in court.”
Vance wasn’t buying Blanche’s explanation.
“You can tell I’m outraged by these comments,” she said. “Look, the reality is that Blanche, a career criminal prosecutor, understands that this is not normal.” She said the District of Columbia alone has seen more grand juries refuse to indict “in the last few months than I saw in my entire career, 25 years at the Justice Department.”
Vance also rejected the claim that most prosecutors have had a grand jury turn down a case.
“It’s not true. I’ve never had a grand jury refuse to indict, and that’s for the very simple reason that as a prosecutor, when I’m in front of the grand jury, I control the playing field. I decide what cases to take in.” She noted that a grand jury only has to find probable cause, which she called “a very low standard.” By contrast, prosecutors must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to win a conviction at trial.
“When you see these sorts of repeat refusals by grand juries in cases that are part of Donald Trump’s revenge docket, you know that something there ain’t right, as we say in the South,” Vance said. “And for the attorney general to deny that is just ludicrous.”
The post Blanche brushing off bungled plan to indict Dems outrages ex-prosecutor: ‘Ludicrous’ appeared first on Raw Story.
