House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and several MAGA Republicans rallied around Donald Trump on Saturday ahead of the former president’s possible indictment by a Manhattan grand jury.
Trump, in posts to his social media platform Truth Social, predicted that he would be arrested Tuesday and called on supporters to protest, citing “illegal leaks.” Hours later, a spokesperson for Trump clarified in a statement that the post was shared without any notification of an indictment beyond media reports by NBC News and other news outlets.
“Here we go again — an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA who lets violent criminals walk as he pursues political vengeance against President Trump,” McCarthy wrote in a tweet.
“I’m directing relevant committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions,” McCarthy added.
Despite his recent strong comments slamming Trump over Jan. 6, former Vice President Mike Pence, who’s nearing a decision on a 2024 presidential bid, said the potential indictment “reeks of the kind of political prosecution that we endured back in the days of the Russia hoax.”
“This is what the Manhattan DA says is their top priority?” Pence said Saturday on SiriusXM radio.
Congressional Republicans closely aligned with Trump, a 2024 presidential candidate, expressed outrage, denouncing the potentially looming indictment.
Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, the third-ranking Republican in the House, called Trump’s possible arrest “unAmerican” and said Democrats have reached “a dangerous new low.”
“Knowing they cannot beat President Trump at the ballot box, the Radical Left will now follow the lead of Socialist dictators and reportedly arrest President Trump,” she said in a statement shared to Twitter, calling him the leading Republican candidate.
Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona tweeted, “If they can come for Trump, they will come for you. This type of stuff only occurs in third world authoritarian nations.”
“Virtually every campaign finance violation involves either 1) spending other people’s money illegally or 2) taking money into your campaign that you shouldn’t. Trump did neither,” tweeted Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida. “He used his own money to resolve a private dispute, irrespective of any campaign.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia characterized the allegations against Trump as “fake” and “outdated.” She tweeted, “Republicans in Congress MUST subpoena these communists and END this!”
She wrote in another tweet that “we don’t need to protest,” adding: “These idiots are sealing their own fate in 2024 because the silent majority has two feelings right now about the current regime.”God Bless President Trump. Real America knows this is all a sham.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio., wrote, “God Bless President Trump. Real America knows this is all a sham.”
March 18, 202301:45
Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, another Trump ally who has advanced his baseless theories of a stolen 2020 election, criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, saying he “will prosecute” Trump while “violent criminals” roam New York City.
While the timing is currently unclear, the former president could soon face possible charges in the state related to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
NBC News reported Friday that local, state and federal enforcement agencies are gearing up for the possible indictment as early as next week.
Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is a key witness in the case. He testified before the grand jury this week, after he pleaded guilty in 2018 to making an illegal payment to Daniels at Trump’s direction for the “principal purpose” of swaying the 2016 election.
Trump said he repaid Cohan the $130,000 but insisted that what he did was legal. The former president has denied any wrongdoing.
A spokesperson for Bragg’s office declined to comment on Trump’s Truth Social posts.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
