CNN anchor startled by Vivek Ramaswamy's 'process crime' defense of Trump: 'No actual underlying crime'

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CNN anchor startled by Vivek Ramaswamy's 'process crime' defense of Trump: 'No actual underlying crime'

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy argued that former President Donald Trump was the victim of prosecution by "process crime" during an appearance on CNN.

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy argued that former President Donald Trump was the victim of a "process crime" during an appearance on CNN Sunday, which took his interviewer Kasie Hunt by surprise.

""I think that our general norm in our Justice Department is you should not convict somebody of a process crime when there was no actual underlying crime. I think that’s a major problem," Ramaswamy said when asked after a superseding indictment against Trump was made public Thursday.

"So, you think destroying evidence is a process crime?" Hunt asked with raised eyebrows, interrupting Ramaswamy and implying that Trump destroyed evidence in the case against him. 

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Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy argued that former President Donald Trump was the victim of a "process crime" during an appearance on CNN Sunday. (Screenshot/CNN)

"I think it is a bad habit that our FBI and DOJ have gotten into, intervening in creating crimes that would not have existed but for their action," Ramaswamy told Hunt. 

The Trump campaign issued a statement claiming the three new charges filed against him were "nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their Department of Justice to harass President Trump and those around him." 

Prosecutors are accusing Trump of scheming with his valet, Walt Nauta, and a Mar-a-Lago property manager, Carlos De Oliveira, to conceal Mar-a-Lago security footage from federal investigators after they issued a subpoena for it. 

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Ramaswamy doubled down on calling the charges against Trump a process crime. "I think it is, by definition, a process crime," Ramaswamy told Hunt. "Any legal scholar will agree with me on that statement. That is by definition a process crime: a crime that would not have existed but for the existence of an investigation."

Ramaswamy doubled down on calling the charges against Trump a process crime. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Ramaswamy, who has risen to third in some national polls but is still a considerable longshot with Trump so far ahead, has consistently condemned criminal prosecution of Trump from the Justice Department. He has repeatedly said he'd pardon Trump if elected.

"The standard I use as our next president is what moves our country forward. What is the right thing for the United States of America. Absolutely, the right answer is to move on and I would pardon him," he said. 

Ramaswamy also claimed that pardoning Trump would help prevent a "national divorce." 

"I think as it relates to moving forward as a country, I absolutely think the right answer for the country is to put the grievances of the past behind us — to pardon President Trump — so we can move forward as one nation rather than marching to a national divorce," he said.

In June, Ramaswamy also called on the other Republican presidential candidates to also promise that they would pardon Trump if elected president.

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Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report. 

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