Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida blasted what he described as a very “politicized” justice system after a Manhattan grand jury indicted former President Donald Trump on charges believed to be related to a “hush money” payment of $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of his 2016 election victory over Hillary Clinton.
In a statement, the GOP governor also vowed not to help in Trump’s extradition because he doesn’t believe the indictment is related to any real violations of campaign finance laws but instead is nothing short of 2024 election interference, as the former president leads in GOP presidential polls.
“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.
“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. Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda,” he added.
Extradition would be necessary only if Trump declined to depart from his Mar-a-Lago estate located in Palm Beach.
The former president has also responded to the indictment.
“This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,” Trump said. “From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats — the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country — have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement.”
A couple of examples of what Trump called political persecution in his statement were the investigations into his campaign’s alleged links to Russia — which were roundly disproven — and his initial impeachment.
“The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable – indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference,” Trump added. “Never before in our Nation’s history has this been done.”
Trump went on to say that Democrats “have cheated countless times over the decades” and they have since weaponized and politicized law enforcement institutions to go after him.
“Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who was hand-picked and funded by George Soros, is a disgrace,” Trump said. “Rather than stopping the unprecedented crime wave taking over New York City, he’s doing Joe Biden’s dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on. This is how Bragg spends his time!”
