Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has sided with his likely main rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination after a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump for covering up hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
“The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American,” DeSantis tweeted Thursday. “The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.”
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DeSantis further stated that Florida wouldn’t cooperate with an extradition request. Trump is also a Florida resident.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg asked the grand jury to indict Trump after the panel heard months of evidence, making the former president the country’s first onetime commander in chief to be charged with a crime. The indictment is sealed, so it is unknown what charge or charges Trump will face, widely understood to be either a misdemeanor or felony for falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to Daniels in return for her silence regarding their sexual encounter.
Trump lawyer Alina Habba told Fox News she expects the former president to be arraigned next week. But DeSantis indicated he is prepared to defend Trump should the ex-reality TV star choose not to surrender.
“Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda,” the governor tweeted.
Former Arkansas GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson, another potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, described it as “a dark day for America when a former president is indicted on criminal charges.”
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“While the grand jury found credible facts to support the charges, it is important that the presumption of innocence follows Mr. Trump,” Hutchinson said. “We need to wait on the facts and for our American system of justice to work like it does for thousands of Americans every day.”
“Finally, it is essential that the decision on America’s next President be made at the ballot box and not in the court system,” he added. “Donald Trump should not be the next president, but that should be decided by the voters.”
