Outraged Republicans have come to the defense of former President Donald Trump over weekend revelations that he could soon be arrested in connection with the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation.
Top Republicans have rejected District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into Trump’s hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, echoing the former president’s charge that the case is a “witch hunt.”
”Here we go again – an outrageous abuse of power by a radical district attorney allowing violent criminals to walk the walk while seeking political revenge against President Trump,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tweeted.
He also announced a House investigation into whether “federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions.”
The firestorm began when Trump declared Saturday that he expected to be arrested in New York City on Tuesday.
“The leading Republican candidate and former President of the United States of America will be arrested on Tuesday of next week,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Protest, Take Back Our Nation!”
A spokesperson for his 2024 presidential campaign he had recently called the investigation a “witch hunt.”
Bragg’s office is believed to be nearing the end of its four-year investigation into Trump’s payment of Daniels to keep her quiet about a date, a charge Trump has denied. But it’s unclear whether a grand jury is ready to indict him, and sources with direct knowledge of the case say Trump has not been told to prepare for an arrest.
Democrats were quick to denounce Trump’s Saturday statement, noting that it echoed his 2020 calls for his supporters to fight the presidential election results.
“The former president’s announcement this morning is reckless: doing it to stay in the news and foment unrest among her supporters,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tweeted Saturday.
“You cannot hide from your violations of the law, disrespect for our elections and incitement to violence,” added the former speaker of the House. “Rightly so, our legal system will decide how to hold him accountable.”
The White House is not preparing for a riot if Trump is arrested, Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said Sunday.
“I’m not aware of any indication that we’re preparing for that type of activity specifically with respect to those comments,” he told “Fox News Sunday.”
“But obviously we work hand in hand with local and state authorities across the country,” he added. “And we’ll continue to watch this to the best of our ability.”
Even Republicans who disagreed with Trump sided with him on the prosecutor’s investigation.
“I am surprised by the idea of impeach a former president of the United Statesat a time when there is a crime wave in New York City,” former Vice President Mike Pence told ABC’s “This Week.”
“The fact that the Manhattan district attorney thinks that impeaching President Trump is his top priority … just tells you everything you need to know about the radical left in this country,” added Pence, who is believed to be preparing a bid for the Republican presidential nomination. .
Still, many lawmakers and conservative commentators thought the prosecutor’s investigation would help Trump politically.
“The New York prosecutor has made more to help Donald Trump get elected president than anyone in America today,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) said Saturday.
