Donald Trump should be prosecuted for violating the Insurrection Act, according to former Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson.
The former DHS secretary appeared Thursday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," where he discussed the deletion of communications across several federal agencies at the end of the Trump presidency, which he said appeared to be a violation of the Federal Records Act, and he said the former president also appeared to have broken federal law.
"Legally, it seems to me, everything I know publicly and most notably on the Jan. 6 hearings that Donald Trump personally is well within what an aggressive federal prosecutor would be willing to take on in in terms of a prosecution," Johnson said. "Whether it's seditious conspiracy or whether it's violation of the Insurrection Act, Jan. 6 was, in my judgment, the very definition of an insurrection, and the insurrection statute punishes those who incite the insurrection and those who give aid and comfort thereto."
"There are various theories of fraud swirling around, fraud on those who contributed to overturn the election when everyone knew it was a fake effort," Johnson added. "So I think at this point he's within the ambit of potential liability here. It's also apparent to me that the Department of Justice is scrambling a bit to catch up after the Jan. 6 hearings, [which] were such high profile and choreographed effectively. This story is not over yet, and I suspect we'll see evidence will get closer and closer to Donald Trump as things progress."
READ MORE: Alex Jones lawyers' 'colossal error' has put them in danger of going to jail: CNN legal analyst
"If for some reason he is not indicted," Johnson concluded, "I think this Department of Justice will have to have a good explanation as to why that is the case."
Watch the video below or at this link.