Former Metropolitan police officer Michael Fanone said Saturday that there’s “ample probable cause” to charge Donald Trump with crimes in last year’s insurrection.
The rule of law has to mean something, he said in an interview on CNN with Jim Acosta.
“I’ll be honest: I don’t have the highest of hopes” that Trump will be charged, he added.
Fanone was horrifically beaten by Trump supporters who breached the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021. He was sprayed in the face with bear mace, viciously attacked with metal poles, dragged down stairs, electroshocked multiple times with stun guns, and suffered at least one heart attack.
He resigned late last year after returning to duty following months of treatment for physical and emotional injuries.
Fanone, a one-time Trump supporter, suspects there’s an intention, including by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, to damage the former president politically without putting him through an “ugly” trial.
“But I don’t think that’s enough. It’s not enough for me,” he told Acosta. “And I don’t think it’s enough for most Americans who want … to return to the rule of law.”
He added: “My understanding of that is that no one in America is above the rule of law. If there is probable cause to suggest that he [Trump] committed these crimes — I think we’ve seen ample probable cause — he should be arrested. The case should be put before a grand jury and if they indict him, he should be tried.”
Check out his interview in the clip below:
