West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey suggested Monday that former President Donald Trump's latest charges should be tried in his state – not Washington, D.C.
Appearing on Newsmax's "American Agenda," the GOP state prosecutor emphasized the need for Trump to have a "fair trial and a fair tribunal," which he believes could be hampered by the nation's capital.
"Given everything going on in D.C., the fact that every single person in D.C. has a very strong opinion on this, the best way to ensure fairness is to move the venue outside of Washington, D.C.," Morrisey said. "And we think a good location would be West Virginia."
He specifically suggested Martinsburg, which has a federal courthouse just under 80 miles from the district, could be a possible spot. However, he noted that there were seven other locations available as well.
"There is precedent for this happening," Morrisey explained. "You can look at the Oklahoma City bombings. You could look at Rodney King. You could look at D.C. snipers. They do this when they're trying to ensure that there's not going to be prejudice exerted in the trial."
Morrisey referred to the circumstances surrounding Trump's indictment for his alleged role in stoking the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot with election skepticism as an "extraordinary situation."
"I don't know why the judge would not consider doing this," Morrisey said of Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the federal District Court for the District of Columbia, who is overseeing the case.
Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith's office filed the indictment last week, charging the former president on four counts related to conspiracy to defraud the country and overturn the 2020 election.
Trump was arraigned on Aug. 3 and pled not guilty to all charges. One day before, he had called for moving the trial to West Virginia via Truth Social, insisting it was "95% anti-Trump."
Morrisey quickly backed the proposed move at the time, revealing his support on Twitter.
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