JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris stated Wednesday that these chargeable for the trouble to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election and the following violence on the U.S. Capitol should be held accountable — even when which means Donald Trump.
“Let the evidence, the facts, take it where it may,” Harris stated in an interview with The Associated Press in Jakarta, Indonesia, the place she was attending a regional summit.
Federal prosecutors have indicted Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, for his efforts to cling to energy in 2020, The former president additionally has been charged in Georgia in a scheme to subvert the need of voters who elected Democrat Joe Biden as a substitute of giving Trump a second time period.
“I spent the majority of my career as a prosecutor,” Harris, who served as California’s legal professional common earlier than transferring to Washington as a U.S. senator. “I believe that people should be held accountable under the law. And when they break the law, there should be accountability.”
The White House has been circumspect in addressing the difficulty of Trump’s prison expenses to be able to keep away from any whiff of political meddling within the work of prosecutors. But Biden and Harris have been outspoken about what they view because the very actual hazard to American democracy the aftermath of the 2020 election uncovered.
“Democracies are very fragile,” the vp stated within the AP interview. “They will only be as strong as our willingness to fight for it.”
Harris is representing the United States at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations instead of Biden.
The president’s absence disenchanted some, however the White House emphasised that it remained dedicated to the area, which Harris reiterated in her interview.
“We as Americans, I believe, have a very significant interest, both in terms of our security but also our prosperity, today and in the future, in developing and strengthening these relationships,” she stated.
Southeast Asia is a important enviornment for the rivalry between the U.S. and China, significantly on the subject of the South China Sea. One-third of world delivery traverses its waters.
Beijing just lately launched a brand new authorities map that emphasizes its disputed territorial claims to the ocean.
“It’s a violation of the law. And that’s where I put that map,” Harris advised the AP.
ASEAN has struggled to make progress on points such because the army coup in Myanmar, however Harris stated the group “absolutely” stays a important discussion board.
“The fact that so many leaders are convening in this one place at the same time to address some of the biggest challenges facing our world is a sign of strength of both the commitment that each nation has to the coalition and the potential for collaboration,” she stated.
Harris sounded a robust warning about stories that Russia was speaking with North Korea about acquiring weapons for its invasion of Ukraine, calling the potential alliance “ill-advised.”
“Russia has been levied a strategic failure,” she stated. ”Their aggressive, unprovoked actions in Ukraine have resulted in a state of affairs the place the aura and fantasy of the Russian army has now been dispelled.”
Harris dismissed issues about Biden’s age despite the fact that he’s extensively seen as too outdated for workplace. A current AP/NORC ballot confirmed that 77% of Americans and 69% of Democrats assume he’s too outdated for a second time period.
Harris is subsequent in line to the presidency, a place that elevated scrutiny of her as she serves with a president who can be 86 on the finish of a possible second time period. Some Republican presidential hopefuls declare {that a} vote for Biden would actually find yourself being a vote for Harris – and never in a great way.
“I see him every day. A substantial amount of time we spend together is in the Oval Office, where I see how his ability to understand issues and weave through complex issues in a way that no one else can to make smart and important decisions on behalf of the American people have played out,” she stated. “And so I will say to you that I think the American people ultimately want to know that their president delivers. And Joe Biden delivers.”
Harris described the thought of presumably getting into the position of president as “hypothetical” however stated she was prepared.
“Joe Biden is going to be fine, so that is not going to come to fruition,” she acknowledged. “But let us also understand that every vice president – every vice president – understands that when they take the oath they must be very clear about the responsibility they may have to take over the job of being president.”
Harris added, “I’m no different.”
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Associated Press Writer Colleen Long contributed to this report from Washington.
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