Gaetz Introduces Bill Prohibiting Sentencing of Campaign Candidates

Former President Donald Trump has faced an onslaught of legal challenges during his reelection campaign, which many Republicans accuse of being politically motivated. Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has introduced legislation in response to the lawfare, declaring that "Presidential candidates should have the right to campaign without interference, regardless of their party affiliation!"

Appropriately named the Prevention of Election Interference Act, Rep. Gaetz's bill would prohibit sentencing for state-level convictions of major party candidates during the campaign season. More specifically, sentencing cannot be reached or enacted 120 days before the general election and 60 days after, applying solely to the Republican and Democratic nominees for President and Vice President.

"Presidential candidates should have the right to campaign without interference, regardless of their party affiliation! Over the past two years, state officials and unelected bureaucrats have been keeping President Trump tied up in court with dubious charges, hindering his ability to campaign nationwide. President Trump deserves the ability to campaign without undue interference by federal or state officials," said Rep. Gaetz in his press release.

Trump was initially scheduled for his sentencing on July 11th after being convicted in his New York "hush money" trial on 34 felony charges, just days before the Republican National Convention. However, the new sentencing date has been delayed to September 18th, still within the period covered in Gaetz's bill, in response to the Supreme Court ruling presidents are immune from prosecution for acts within their official capacity.

Should the Florida Congressman's bill pass and be enacted, the sentencing could be postponed further.

The significance of Gaetz's bill comes with recent events, as Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on July 13th, which killed former fire chief Corey Comperatore and injured two others.

The following Monday, Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents case against the former president, which Gaetz celebrated in a post to X (formerly Twitter), saying, "[Cannon's] decision confirms what all of us knew already—that Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed, and his political persecutions of President Trump are entirely invalid. Private citizen Jack Smith is not an employee of the Department of Justice and should immediately shut his offices and stop illegally spending taxpayer money."