Could DeSantis Really Block Trump’s Extradition to New York?

While former president Donald Trump is expected to turn himself in next week ahead of his Tuesday arraignment in a Manhattan courthouse, there has been some speculation that he could change his mind and try to fight the extradition from Florida.

On Thursday, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who many view as Trump’s chief opponent for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said he would not aid Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in his effort to criminally charge and prosecute Trump over alleged hush-money payments to a porn star to cover up an affair. In a tweet, DeSantis accused Bragg of weaponizing the legal system, and said that what he is doing is “un-American.”

DeSantis added that “Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda.”

The point will be moot if Trump does surrender next week, as his lawyers have said he will. But if Trump were to reverse course and refuse to turn himself in, DeSantis would likely be unable to block the extradition in the long run, though he theoretically could delay it, potentially for weeks or even months.

Article IV, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution states clearly that if a crime is committed in one state and the suspect has fled to another, extradition is not optional.

A person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

Florida law gives the governor the authority to “investigate” the request, to determine “whether the person ought to be surrendered.” But the governor’s authority to decline a fugitive extradition is very limited, said Dave Aronberg, the state attorney for Palm Beach County, which is home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and residence.

“There are very limited grounds to fight an extradition,” he said. “It would be like, wrong guy, wrong identity, or paperwork is messed up, or this is a non-fugitive extradition.”

Because the alleged crime – connected to supposed hush-money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels – seems to have occurred in New York while Trump was in the state, that would make an extradition from Bragg a “fugitive extradition,” Aronberg said.

If DeSantis denied an extradition, the prosecutors in New York would likely to go to federal court to get what is called a writ of mandamus – a court order directing a government official to properly fulfill his or her duties. If DeSantis refused to abide then, he could be found in contempt of court.

DeSantis would, however, have the authority to investigate and review the extradition request, and he would have some time to do it, potentially delaying the extradition for weeks or even months.

“If DeSantis really wanted to delay it, he could,” Aronberg said.

If Trump had been in Florida at the time of the alleged hush-money payment, that would make it a “non-fugitive extradition,” Aronberg said, and DeSantis would have more discretion.

Arronberg said Trump would have a better chance to fight an extradition to Georgia if he was indicted in the ongoing election-interference probe in that state, because the phone calls Trump made that are at the center of that case occurred when he was outside of Georgia.

But even if DeSantis was able to shield Trump from being extradited to New York or Georgia, any time Trump set foot in a state with a hostile governor – whether for a campaign rally or for business – he would face the threat of being extradited from that state, Aronberg said.

Aronberg, a Democrat and a former state senator in Florida, suspects Trump will turn himself in and continue to paint himself as the victim of a “witch hunt” by a far-left prosecutor.

“Martyrdom, that’s what fuels MAGA,” he said.

Trump has called the indictment an example of “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.” He’s also taken aim at New York judge Juan Merchan, saying he was “hand picked by Bragg,” and “HATES ME.”

It’s also unlikely that Trump would want DeSantis, a supposed rival, to be seen as his protector, Aronberg said.

But Aronberg said he has entertained the idea that Trump could refuse to turn himself in, because “it doesn’t sound like his personality to surrender to authorities.”

“His legal strategy over the years has been to delay the legal process, and this would delay the legal process,” Aronberg said. “It would go to the governor, he would do an investigation, it would take a few months, New York would have to go to federal court.”

“If his goal is to delay this beyond the 2024 election, this is one potential avenue for that.”