Senior Republicans echoed Donald Trump’s claim on Sunday that an impending indictment in the hush-money case would be political “harassment”, while Democrats warned his call for protests could lead to a repeat of the chaos his supporters at the US Capitol. Can
In an explosive announcement on Saturday, the former president said he expected to be “arrested” Tuesday in connection with a grand jury investigation into allegedly preventing a porn star from disclosing a past affair with Trump in 2016. Was.
Even potential Republican rivals in the still-developing 2024 presidential race reacted sharply.
“I am appalled at the idea of impeaching a former President of the United States at a time when there is a crime wave in New York City,” Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president, said on ABC’s “This Week.”
“This just sounds like a politically charged prosecution,” Pence said.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has not confirmed any plans for an indictment, though several indicate — including recent appearances before a grand jury by former Trump fixer Michael Cohen and the porn star known as Stormy Daniels — that a quick point to the conclusion.
Trump has denied any untoward involvement with Daniels. But law enforcement agencies are preparing for a possible indictment, with chaotic scenes outside Manhattan Criminal Court almost certain if it happens.
Constructing ‘Sympathy’ for Trump?
The astonishing prospect of a former president being arrested — a historic first — has fueled passions and injected considerable uncertainty into the 2024 campaign.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a vocal supporter of the former president, called a possible indictment “an ongoing, never-ending effort to destroy Donald Trump, everything around Donald Trump.”
Even New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, an outspoken Trump critic and potential rival for the 2024 nomination, suggested an indictment could generate a powerful backlash.
“I think it’s generating a lot of sympathy for the former president,” he told the CNN Sunday talk show “State of the Union.”
“It changes the paradigm substantially as we go into the ’24 election,” he said, adding one possible indictment: “It’s going to be a circus.”
Trump’s call to his supporters on the Truth social platform was “Protest! Resist! Resist!” and “Take back our country!” That was seen as a worrying echo of his language by Democrats prior to the January 6, 2021 riot by their supporters at the US Capitol.
Pence, Sununu and other Republicans defended the right to protest any legal action against Trump, as long as people do so peacefully.
But Pence’s former chief of staff, Mark Short, told CNN that “trying to encourage protests in the shadow of January 6th is reckless.”
fear of ‘violence’
Democrats said they feared Trump’s call could incite violence.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi on Saturday called Trump’s announcement “reckless”, saying he was trying to “sow unrest among his supporters”.
Democrat Mark Kelly recalled being in the Senate chamber when the Jan. 6 riots forced him and other lawmakers to seek shelter, and expressed concern that Trump could trigger a repeat of life-threatening unrest from the protests.
“I think it’s going to be important for law enforcement to look into the protests and make sure it doesn’t escalate to the level of violence,” Kelly said on CNN.
The brief suggested that Trump may be drawing attention to the Manhattan case to counter the impression that other state and federal inquiries into his past actions, which are legally considered more serious, “are all politically based. “
The current House speaker, Republican Kevin McCarthy, said on Saturday that Trump’s arrest would be an “outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA,” adding that he would direct congressional committees to investigate whether federal funds “destroy our democracy.” getting used to.”
Some saw this as a thinly veiled threat to the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who was secretly leading an investigation into the money.
As security agencies prepared for possible protests outside his courthouse, Bragg told employees in an internal message on Saturday that threats or intimidation against him would not be tolerated, NBC reported.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)