Republican leaders on Sunday denounced a “political” relentlessness against Donald Trump, who could become the first former American president to be indicted, the Democrats worrying that the billionaire’s calls to demonstrate could lead to new violence .
The possibility of an indictment against Donald Trump has suddenly grown closer since he was asked to testify in the so-called “Stormy Daniels” case, a possible sign that the investigation by the New York prosecutor’s office is coming to an end. It concerns a payment dating from 2016, to buy the silence of this pornographic actress on a supposed former affair.
On Sunday, the former host of the White House denounced on his social network Truth Social a “witch hunt”, and took offense that a prosecutor who exercised “during the largest wave of violent crimes in the history of New York” could “harass, indict, and prosecute a former President of the United States”.
The day before, the Republican, who is again a candidate for the 2024 presidential election, said he was going to be “arrested” on Tuesday, and called on his supporters to “save America” ??and “protest”.
In the process, many Republicans came to his defense, foremost among them the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, who denounced an “abuse of power” on the part of the New York State Attorney for Manhattan. , Alvin Bragg.
Even former Vice President Mike Pence, who nevertheless distanced himself from Donald Trump after his supporters attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, supported the billionaire.
The lawsuits are “politically motivated”, judged on Sunday his former right-hand man, who himself has ambitions for 2024 and therefore takes care of his image with the Republican base. He said he was “dismayed” at the idea that a former president could be charged by this prosecutor in the midst of a “crime wave in New York”.
“Americans have a constitutional right to peacefully assemble,” he added.
On the Democratic side, such a defense was deemed irresponsible.
Mr. Pence places “his ambition above the general interest” by “attacking the potential lawsuits against Trump and by defending a call to demonstrate”, tackled on Twitter the elected official of the House Adam Schiff, former member of the parliamentary commission that investigated the assault on the Capitol.
“There is no reason to protest,” said Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren. “This is about justice working as it should, without fear or privilege for anyone.”
The day before, elected Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who presided over the House of Representatives on January 6, 2021, called Donald Trump’s statements “dangerous”.
“It will be important for law enforcement to pay attention to these protests and ensure that they do not reach the level of violence” of January 6, said Democratic Arizona Senator Mark Kelly , who replied in the affirmative to a journalist asking him if he was worried.
According to press reports, prosecutor Alvin Bragg assured his teams that no “attempts at intimidation” or threats would be “tolerated”.
Several US media have reported that local and federal authorities are preparing for the possibility of indictment of the former president, which could pose a security challenge in the event of protests outside the court, whether supporters or opponents of Donald Trump.
Such an unprecedented indictment would undoubtedly be explosive and could impact the campaign for the 2024 presidential election.
Although, according to American journalists, the former tenant of the White House fears the prospect of an arrest, an indictment could also benefit him by galvanizing his base.
“The prosecutor in New York did more to help Donald Trump get elected president than anyone in the United States today,” influential Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Saturday, calling the prosecution in New York of “selective”.
These will “create a lot of sympathy for the former president”, added the Republican governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu, who predicted “a political circus”.
The criminal investigation focuses on a $130,000 payment to actress Stormy Daniels — real name Stephanie Clifford — to conceal an alleged affair with Mr. Trump. This payment took place in 2016, just before the presidential election finally won by the billionaire.
The New York prosecutor’s office considers that it was a question of influencing the election by preventing embarrassing information from being made public.
19/03/2023 22:17:55 – Washington (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
