House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and several MAGA Republicans rallied behind 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 he would be arrested Tuesday and called on supporters to protest, citing “illegal leaks.” Hours later, a Trump spokesman clarified in a statement that the post was shared without any announcement of an indictment beyond media reports from NBC News and other news outlets.
“Here we go again – an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA who lets violent criminals go while pursuing political revenge against President Trump,” McCarthy wrote in a tweet.
“I am directing appropriate committees to immediately investigate whether federal funds are being used to undermine 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 is nearing a decision in a presidential election in 2024said the potential indictment “sounds like the kind of political prosecution that we endured back in the days of Russia fraud.”
“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 and condemned the potentially threatening indictment.
Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, the third-ranking Republican in the House, called Trump’s possible arrest “un-American” and said Democrats have reached “a dangerous new low.”
“Unable to beat President Trump at the polls, the Radical Left will now follow the lead of the socialist dictators and reportedly arrest President Trump,” she said in a announcement shared on Twitter, calling him the leading Republican candidate.
Rep. Andy Biggs from Arizona tweeted“If they can come after Trump, they will come after you. This type of thing only happens in third world authoritarian nations.”
“Virtually all campaign finance violations involve either 1) using other people’s money illegally or 2) taking money into your campaign that you shouldn’t. Neither did Trump.” tweeted Rep. Matt Gaetz from Florida. “He used his own money to settle a private dispute, regardless of any campaign.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia characterized the allegations against Trump as “false” and “outdated.” She tweeted, “Republicans in Congress MUST rally these communists and STOP this!”
She wrote in another tweet that “we don’t need to protest,” adding, “These morons are sealing their own fate in 2024 because the silent majority is of two minds right now about the current regime.” God bless President Trump. Real America knows it’s all a hoax.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio., wrote“God bless President Trump. Real America knows it’s all a hoax.”
Late. JD Vance of Ohio, another Trump ally who has floated his baseless theories about a stolen 2020 election, slammed 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 movie star Stormy Daniels.
This was reported by NBC News on Friday that local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are preparing 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 pleading guilty in 2018 to making an illegal payment to Daniels at Trump’s direction with the “primary purpose” of influencing the 2016 election.
Trump said he repaid Cohan the $130,000, but insisted what he did was legal. The former president has denied any wrongdoing.
A spokesman for Bragg’s office declined to comment on Trump’s Truth Social post.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
