Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that the Manhattan indictment of Donald Trump was “un-American” and that his state would not help hand the former president over to New York officials.
The conservative Republican, who is expected to challenge Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, said District Attorney Alvin Bragg was weaponizing his office by bringing charges after impaneling a grand jury to look into hush money payments to pornstar Stormy Daniels
“The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American,” DeSantis said on Twitter.
“The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.
“Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda.”
Despite his offer, DeSantis likely has little power to prevent New York officials from calling Trump to the city.
The US Extradition Act requires “the governor of each state to deliver up fugitives from justice found in their state, upon lawful demand from another state.”
The shocking alliance comes after weeks of the two — the biggest contenders for the Republican presidential nomination — butting heads.
Over a week earlier, DeSantis took a jab at Trump before saying wouldn’t get involved in the impending trial, despite disagreeing with the actions of Bragg, who was backed by liberal billionaire financier George Soros.
“I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said. “But what I can speak to is that 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, you know, that’s an example of pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office.”
“I’ve gotta spend my time on issues that actually matter to people. I can’t spend my time worrying about things of that nature. So, we’re not gonna be involved in it in any way. “I’m fighting for Floridians and I’m fighting back against Biden.”
“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 wrote. “I’m sure he will want to fight these misfits just like I do!”
The sealed indictment was filed Thursday evening after weeks of anticipation that Trump would be charged with paying Daniels to keep their alleged tryst a secret during his 2016 run for president.
Trump — who has officially become the first former US president to face criminal prosecution — has sworn his innocence.
“This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,” Trump said in a statement.
“Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable — indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference,” he added.
The 76-year-old Republican is expected to surrender to law enforcement next week, his attorneys told The Post.
