NBC News anchor Kristen Welker pressed Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) over his support for Donald Trump’s pledge to “go after” Joe Biden with a special prosecutor.

Trump has vowed to use the Department of Justice to retaliate against his political opponents should he regain the Oval Office for a second term this November. Specifically, Trump has promised to appoint a special prosecutor to target Biden after he leaves office, a policy position Vance publicly supports.

The Ohio Senator is considered one of Trump’s top choices on his vice presidential shortlist. In the past, Vance has denounced the criminal indictments against the former president as political oppression.

During a Sunday interview, Welker questioned Vance for backing Trump’s calls to jail his political opponents in a second term.

WELKER: Senator, if former President Trump were to win, if you were to be his vice president, would you support him appointing a special prosecutor to go after his political enemies, the Bidens?

VANCE: Well, first of all, Chris said, I find it interesting how much the media and the Democrats have lost their mind over this particular quote. Donald Trump is talking about appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Joe Biden for wrongdoing. Joe Biden has done exactly that for the last few years and has done far more, in addition to that, to engage in a campaign of lawfare against his political opposition. I think what Donald Trump is simply saying is we ought to investigate the prior administration.

There are obviously many instances of wrongdoing. The House Oversight Committee has identified a number of corrupt business transactions that may or may not be criminal. Course, you have to investigate to find out. So I think Donald Trump saying, look, let’s do the basic work of investigating wrongdoing is a totally reasonable thing for him to do. And frankly, the Biden administration has done far worse. So if you think that what Donald Trump is proposing is a threat to democracy isn’t what Biden has already done a massive threat to our system of law and government?

WELKER: Senator, just to be very clear, though, Joe Biden didn’t appoint a special prosecutor, the attorney general did that. Trump was indicted by grand juries. He was found guilty by a jury of his peers in New York. But can we just go back to the core question here? Would you support him taking such an action? It sounds like you’re saying, yes, you would.

VANCE: I would absolutely support investigating prior wrongdoing by our government. Absolutely. That’s what you have to have in a system of law and order. Kristen. But I have to reject the premise here. Joe Biden appointed the attorney general, Merrick Garland, who, of course, answers to Joe Biden can be fired by Joe Biden. So the idea that the Biden administration has nothing to do with the appointment of the special prosecutor, I think completely betrays an understanding, a misunderstanding of how our system of government actually works.

And of course, and of course, Kristen, we we have to we have to make this point, Kristen, that the prosecution of Donald Trump in New York, which I think now is fundamentally been thrown in doubt by this immunity case, it was one of the main guys was a Department of Justice official in the Biden administration who jumped ship to join a local prosecutor’s office to go after him…You question the legitimacy of the prosecution. That’s a problem.

WELKER: Senator, that happens all the time. People are appointed from Washington…The DOJ told Congress this week it reviewed all communications since Biden took office and found no contact between federal prosecutors and those involved with that case in New York. Can you stick to the substance of the question, though? Let me just ask, because you are I just want to stick with this line of theory that you are laying out, which is you are saying it’s not okay for Joe Biden to weaponize the Justice Department if it’s not okay for Joe Biden to weaponize the Justice Department, as you say, which there’s no evidence of that. Why is it okay for Donald Trump to do that?

VANCE: Well, Kristen, first of all, you said that it happens all the time, but the number three person in the Department of Justice jumped ship to join a local prosecutor’s office to go after the president’s political opponent. I don’t think that’s ever happened in the history of American democracy, and I don’t think that we should legitimize it.

Now, if Donald Trump’s attorney general had this, his number two or his number three jumped ship to a local prosecutor’s office in Ohio or Wisconsin, and that person then went after Donald Trump’s political opposition. That’s a different conversation. All he’s suggesting is that we should investigate credible arguments of wrongdoing. That’s all that Donald Trump is saying. That is not a threat to democracy. That’s merely reinforcing our system of law and government.

WELKER: Bottom line, you are okay with Donald Trump appointing a special prosecutor to go after his political enemies, which would include Joe Biden. You’re just to button that up, it sounds like.

Watch the clip above via NBC News.

The post WATCH: NBC’s Kristen Welker Battles VP Hopeful JD Vance Over Trump’s Vow to ‘Go After’ Biden With Special Prosecutor first appeared on Mediaite.

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