DeSantis slams prosecutor in Stormy Daniels case; Trump lashes out
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Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed a Manhattan prosecutor considering possible criminal charges against former President Donald Trump on Monday, breaking his silence on an issue that could loom large in the 2024 presidential election.
DeSantis said his administration won’t intervene in the matter, which he called a politically motivated investigation from a prosecutor supported by the Democratic billionaire donor George Soros.
“I have no interest in getting involved in some type of manufactured circus by some Soros DA,” DeSantis told reporters in Panama City. “He’s trying to do a political spectacle.”
He said he didn’t know anything about the investigation, which reportedly is focused on allegations that Trump paid hush money to an adult film star before the 2016 election.
“I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair,” said DeSantis, without ever mentioning Trump’s name. “I just, I can’t speak to that.”
DeSantis’ vow to stay out of the case is significant because Florida law allows a governor to review an extradition request from another state. Trump is a Florida resident, spending time at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. His lawyers have indicated he will turn himself in if he is charged.
DeSantis, widely seen as the leading contender to challenge Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, has not officially announced he will run.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is investigating whether Trump falsified business records when his former lawyer Michael Cohen made a $130,000 payment in the fall of 2016 to porn star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
In a social media post, Trump wrote that he expects to be arrested on Tuesday.
Trump responded to DeSantis’ comments in another post on Monday, linking to a story with a photograph of what is purported to be DeSantis as a young teacher partying with teenage girls.
“Ron DeSanctimonious will probably find out about FALSE ACCUSATIONS & FAKE STORIES sometime in the future, as he gets older, wiser, and better known, when he’s unfairly and illegally attacked by a woman, even classmates that are ‘underage’ (or possibly a man!),” Trump posted. “I’m sure he will want to fight these misfits just like I do!”
The photo has been posted by Trump before. DeSantis didn’t respond, other than to say he is focused on his job as governor and not “trying to smear other Republicans.”
In response to a reporter’s question Monday, DeSantis accused Manhattan’s district attorney of being soft on crime and using his authority to pursue his political enemies.
“If you have a prosecutor who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction, and he chooses to go back many years ago, to try to use something about porn star hush money payments — that’s an example of pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office,” DeSantis said.
Trump’s allies criticized DeSantis for not rushing to the former president’s defense when news broke on Saturday that he could be arrested. They remained critical after his remarks on Monday with Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., expressing his dissatisfaction on Twitter.
“So DeSantis thinks that Dems weaponizing the law to indict President Trump is a ‘manufactured circus’ & isn’t a ‘real issue,’” Trump Jr. tweeted. “Pure weakness. Now we know why he was silent all weekend.”
Interstate extradition for fugitives from justice is required in the U.S. Constitution.
A governor can review an extradition request, but the process wouldn’t give DeSantis the power to block it, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said.
“If Trump decides to fight extradition, it is going to be a ministerial matter for the governor,” he said. “Conceivably, the governor could slow it down, but he cannot stop it.”
If Trump is charged and voluntarily surrenders in New York, he would be fingerprinted, have a mugshot taken and likely be released without bail, Aronberg said.
“I don’t believe he would ever be put in handcuffs — unless he wanted it,” he said.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office did not respond to a request for comment. Bragg hasn’t outlined a time frame on when a decision could be reached on whether to charge Trump. But the Manhattan prosecutor vowed that he would not be intimidated or deterred by “press attention and public comments.”
“We do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York,” Bragg wrote in an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press.
Bragg, a Democrat, inherited the investigation when he took office in January 2022.
DeSantis said he was not aware of any discussions between New York and Florida authorities on a possible indictment of Trump.
The former president helped to propel DeSantis to the governor’s mansion with his endorsement in 2018. But with a potential primary clash looming, tensions have been rising between the two politicians.
DeSantis insisted on Monday he is focused on serving as governor and fighting against the policies of Democratic President Joe Biden.
“I’ve got to spend my time on issues that actually matter to people,” DeSantis said.
