Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis won’t deliver former President Donald Trump into the hands of New York prosecutors after his indictment.
DeSantis made it clear that he would treat the charges against Trump as a political abuse of power in a Thursday tweet, minutes after news of the indictment became official.
The governor pledged that Florida’s government would decline to fulfill an extradition request for Trump on the part of New York.
“The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head,” DeSantis stated.
“It is un-American. The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct,” he added.
The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head.
It is un-American.
The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is…
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 30, 2023
“Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda.”
DeSantis’ reaction to Trump’s indictment was closely scrutinized by national Republicans — some of whom accused him of insufficiently backing his potential rival for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
DeSantis previously criticized Bragg for his connections to Democratic oligarch George Soros, accusing him of ignoring violent crime in favor of political bias.
“He’s trying to do a political spectacle. He’s trying to virtue signal to his base.”
BREAKING: Gov. DeSantis responds to Trump possibly being indicted.
“I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair…” but says Alvin Bragg is a Soros-backed DA who is going after Trump for political reasons. pic.twitter.com/M0JiQP3KVb
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) March 20, 2023
“We’re not going to be involved in it in any way.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office indicated that it had asked Trump to surrender to New York law enforcement after a grand jury empaneled by Bragg returned an indictment.
— Alvin Bragg (@ManhattanDA) March 30, 2023
If Trump declines to face Bragg’s charges in New York, DeSantis’ role as the governor of the former president’s home state could present a roadblock for the prosecution.
Should Trump agree to appear in a New York courthouse for a potential campaign finance violation trial, DeSantis’ role in extradition would become moot.
