Republican Senator Rand Paul said Tuesday that progressive Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg should be locked up for dereliction of duty if he indicts former president Trump surrounding a porn hush money scandal.
“A Trump indictment would be a disgusting abuse of power. The DA should be put in jail,” the senator tweeted.
Over the weekend, Trump warned on social media that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday. Speculation swirled in online reports affirming the same, although it has not yet happened.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office appears to be close to indicting Trump in connection with a hush-money payment made to porn actress Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors are likely wrapping up proceedings, as most critical witnesses have been interviewed including Trump’s former self-described “fixer,” Michael Cohen, and porn star Stormy Daniels, as well as Trump himself, have reportedly been contacted for testimony.
Once arrested, Trump will likely be brought to a courtroom and presented before a judge, our Andrew McCarthy noted An arraignment, in which Trump would enter a plea, will likely follow.
Multiple GOP lawmakers have decried Trump’s treatment since the news of the imminent indictment surfaced. Former vice president Mike Pence and Governor Ron DeSantis, both of whom have become targets of Trump since he launched his third presidential bid, blasted the prosecution as politically motivated.
“I’m taken aback at the idea of indicting a former president of the United States, at a time when there’s a crime wave in New York City,” Pence said on ABC’s “This Week.” “The fact that the Manhattan DA thinks that indicting President Trump is his top priority, I think… just tells you everything you need to know about the radical left in this country.”
DeSantis slammed Bragg, although he stopped short of demanding he be penalized for abusing his authority. The governor made a dig at the hush money allegations, which some conservatives criticized as a misstep amid what they’ve called an unprecedented attack on a former president.
“The Manhattan District Attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor. That’s an example of pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office,” the governor said at a recent press conference.