Prominent US Republican Ron DeSantis has criticized New York prosecutors for their investigations into former President Donald Trump. Florida’s governor today accused prosecutor Alvin Bragg of conducting a “political spectacle”.
When a prosecutor ignores everyday crimes and instead deals with a years-old case involving clandestine payments to porn stars, they are pursuing a “political agenda” and using their office as a weapon. “This is fundamentally wrong,” DeSantis said.
Charges are considered probable
The New York prosecutor is investigating the ex-president ousted for bribing a porn star and a model. An indictment seems increasingly likely. Trump even claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested on Tuesday. He called on his supporters to protest this. Trump, who is running again for the Republican presidential nomination, sees the actions in New York – like many other legal disputes – as a politically motivated “witch hunt”.
Trump’s environment assured in advance that the former president would follow the usual procedure should there be an indictment – and also voluntarily appear in court to find out details of possible charges. That wouldn’t require a sensational arrest. It is also considered likely that Trump could return home after such a formal procedure.
DeSanti’s main intra-party competitor
Currently, DeSantis is considered Trump’s biggest internal competitor. He is also expected to run as a presidential candidate in the November 2024 election. Florida’s governor has recently remained silent about the investigations in New York.
While DeSantis was now attacking the prosecutor in Manhattan, he was also critical of Trump during his appearance. He couldn’t say anything about how a porn star was taking bribes to ensure silence about an alleged affair of some kind. This earned DeSantis laughs from the audience.