Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday responded to rumors that former President Donald Trump will face criminal charges this week as the two head toward an anticipated fight for the Republican presidential nomination.
During an event, DeSantis was asked to comment on the possibility that Trump will be criminally charged over alleged hush money payments to a porn star in 2016, The Hill reported. Trump announced over the weekend that he expects to be arrested on Tuesday amid news reports suggesting an indictment is coming soon.
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“I’ve seen rumors swirl,” DeSantis said. “I have not seen any facts yet, and so I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I do know this: The Manhattan district attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor and so he, like other Soros-funded prosecutors, they weaponize their office to impose a political agenda on society at the expense of the rule of law and public safety.”
DeSantis was referring to the billionaire and Democratic Party mega-donor George Soros, who, according to the New York Post, donated $1 million to the Manhattan district attorney investigating Trump, Alvin Bragg, through a political action committee.
The audience at the event reportedly laughed when DeSantis said he doesn’t “know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair.”
“But what I can speak to is if you have a prosecutor, who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction, and he chooses to go back many, 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,” he said.
The investigation of Trump involves an alleged $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels to secure her silence ahead of the 2016 presidential election about an alleged affair.
DeSantis said during the event that he would not be involved in Trump’s hush money case “in any way.” Trump lives at his Mar-a-Lago club in DeSantis’ state, Florida, and if charged, would need to appear in New York court.
Trump is currently one of three declared candidates for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, the others being former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. DeSantis has long been discussed as a top contender for the nomination, but has not yet announced a campaign.
