OAN’s Daniel Baldwin
11:48 AM – Friday, September 1, 2023
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey continues to support a change of venue for 45th President Donald Trump’s federal trial scheduled for March 4, 2024, the day before Super Tuesday, in Washington, DC.
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“I think that this would be a highly prejudicial tribunal,” Morrisey told One America News. “I’m very concerned about that.”
As it stands, every single Jan. 6 defendant to receive a jury trial in the nation’s capital has been found guilty. Morrisey says while it is normally traditional to try defendants in the specific area where the alleged crimes were committed, there are exceptions.
“There are instances in our nation’s history and in a number of them where the court has moved the venue in order to assure that there’s going to be fairness in the process,” Morrisey said. “I think that’s all we’re asking to do.”
According to the DC Board of Elections, less than six percent of the voters registered as Republicans as of July 31, 2023. In the 2020 election, more than 90% of the nation’s capital voted for President Joe Biden. Trump has previously pushed for the venue to be moved to West Virginia. Morrisey argues that doing so would be in the interest of not only Trump, but also the prosecution.
“Imagine if you could get a conviction in one of the districts in West Virginia at one of the courthouses,” Morrisey said. “That would be significant, and you’d probably take away the ability of the defendant to prevail on appeal.”
“If you proceed in Washington, DC, the odds of the government winning on appeal I don’t think are terribly high. I think this could be good for everyone.”
Trump’s attorneys have stated they will be filing a flurry of pretrial motions before the deadline of Oct. 9, 2023. Trump attorney John Lauro indicated among those would be a motion to change the venue.
“Fairness means fairness for the prosecution and for the defense,” Morrisey explained.
Trump has emphasized that having the trial in March 2024 would be another example of election interference. Morrisey would agree.
“I think President Trump, like any defendant, deserves his day in court,” Morrisey said. “It needs to be fair. And it needs to be in a fair location, and I’m a big advocate for that.”
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