DeSantis calls Trump’s indictment ‘un-American’, says he won’t help with extradition

“The militarization of the legal system to advance a political agenda upsets the rule of law. It’s not American,” DeSantis said on Twitter. “The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney consistently broke the law to downgrade crimes and excuse criminal wrongdoing. Yet now he is extending the law to target a political opponent.

“Florida will not assist with an extradition request given the questionable circumstances involved with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda,” he continued.

Under Florida law, the governor can intervene in an extradition case if it is contested. But as of now, Trump’s lawyers have indicated that Trump should surrender.

DeSantis’ stance on the indictment was highly anticipated as, as a likely political rival, he’s been hit hard by Trump and his allies in recent weeks, including over his previous comments about the legal issues of Trump when he said, “I don’t know what goes into paying a porn star silent money to get silence on some type of alleged affair.

In recent weeks, DeSantis has not only come under fire from Trump, but his comments calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “territorial dispute” have also been hotly questioned by other Republicans, including Florida Sen. . Marco Rubio.

Several national polls have been released that have seen Trump widening his lead over DeSantis in a potential matchup, but state-by-state polls in key battleground states have suggested much tighter competition. A DeSantis-supporting super PAC released a Georgia poll on NBC News on Thursday that found DeSantis was actually leading Trump in that state.

Florida Democratic Party chairwoman Nikki Fried responded strongly to DeSantis’ comments, saying in her own social media post that “breaking the law is unAmerican and blaming George Soros is anti-Semitic.” She added that “you know there was a real, proven, illegal and unconstitutional weaponization of the law – your removal of State’s Attorney @AndrewWarrenFL.”

It’s a reference to DeSantis’ suspension of a Tampa-area prosecutor that has been challenged in federal court and state court. DeSantis, during a book promotional appearance in Georgia, noted his action by telling a crowd that he had removed a “Soros”-backed prosecutor.

Trump is currently linked to several ongoing investigations, including one into his handling of classified documents at his Florida home in Mar-a-Lago and an ongoing investigation in Atlanta.

State Sen. Joe Gruters, the former Florida Republican Party chairman with close ties to Trump, dodged questions about how the indictment might affect DeSantis and instead said it would spur Republicans to come together to beat President Joe Biden in 2024.

“I think it’s a witch hunt,” Gruters told reporters outside the Senate chambers. “I think the President is leading a race to win the 2024 cycle, and I think that’s directly to undermine his efforts…. It’s a rallying point for all Republicans to come together.