Ron DeSantis condemns indictment of Donald Trump

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has joined other high-profile Republicans in condemning any indictment of Donald Trump for allegedly paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

Donald Trump arrives for an event in Davenport, Iowa. His visit follows those by potential challengers for the GOP presidential nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Picture: Getty Images/AFP.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump’s most likely opponent for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has joined other high-profile Republicans in condemning any indictment of the former president for allegedly paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

Mr DeSantis, who appeared to have fallen out with his former political mentor in recent months as their political aspirations clashed, accused Alvin Bragg, the Democrat District Attorney investigating Mr Trump, of being a “Soros-funded prosecutor” who had “weaponised” his office.

“I’ve seen rumours swirl. I have not seen any facts yet, and so I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Mr DeSantis said on Monday (Tuesday AEDT).

“But I do know this: the Manhattan District Attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor and so he, like other Soros-funded prosecutors, they weaponise their office to impose a political agenda on ­society at the expense of the rule of law and public safety.”

Americans are waiting to find out whether Mr Bragg will make history this week by issuing the first indictment of a former president, which Mr Trump on Saturday predicted would occur on Wednesday AEDT.

Supporters of Donald Trump gather outside Trump tower in New York City ahead of his expected arrest. Picture: AFP.

“Protest, take our nation back!” Mr Trump tweeted on Saturday ahead of a string of furious social media posts directed at Mr Bragg and his former lawyer Michael Cohen, one of the witnesses for the prosecution.

Until Mr Trump’s weekend claims, charges related to falsifying business records or violating campaign finances laws in relation to payments to Daniels in 2016 were considered the least of the former president’s worries, given pending investigations into his ­behaviour around the 2020 election, the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots, and possession of classified documents.

Separately, New York police began erecting barriers around a lower Manhattan court complex on Monday in case angry protests broke out following any arraignment of the former president, who would need to travel from Florida to New York, where he would be fingerprinted and handcuffed.

Mr DeSantis, widely expected to announce his formal candidacy for president in coming weeks, said Florida would play no role in the case, signalling the state would not help any attempt by Mr Trump, who spent the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort, to fight ­extradition to New York.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks to Iowa voters in Des Moines, Iowa. Picture: Getty Images via AFP.

Meanwhile, top Republicans in a formal letter released publicly gave Mr Bragg three days to ­explain himself before congress, condemning his investigation as “unprecedented … politically motivated abuse of authority”, stopping short of issuing a subpoena.

The chairmen of three powerful House of Representative committees on Monday formally ­demanded Mr Bragg explain why he was choosing to prosecute Mr Trump for alleged crimes that the federal Department of Justice ­declined to prosecute in 2019.

“Your actions will erode confidence in the even-handed application of justice and unalterably interfere with the course of the 2024 presidential election,” the letter, signed by Republican committee chairmen James Comer, Jim Jordan and Bryan Steil stated.

“This indictment comes after years of your office searching for a basis – any basis – on which to bring charges, ultimately settling on a novel legal theory untested anywhere in the country and one that federal authorities declined to pursue.”

Bringing the sort of charges which are expected against Mr Trump is subject to a five year statute of limitations, which will expire this year, the letter pointed out.

Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, said the indictment was the “ultimate gravedigger indictment”, and appeared to be politically motivated.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy similarly cast the investigation as an “abuse” and an effort to “subvert our democracy” but cautioned Mr Trump’s supporters against taking to the streets if their former commander in chief is arrested.

“I don’t think people should protest this, no. And I think President Trump, if you talk to him, he doesn’t believe that, either,” ­McCarthy said.

Earlier, New Hampshire’s ­Republican Governor, Chris Sununu, said the potential indictment was “building a lot of sympathy for the former president”, pointing out on CNN that Republicans who “weren’t big Trump supporters” were concerned “the president was being attacked”.

Tesla chief executive and Twitter owner Elon Musk expressed a similar view on Twitter: “If this happens, Trump will be re-elected in a landslide victory.”