ORLANDO, Fla. — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy urged calm Sunday, saying Americans shouldn’t protest if former President Donald Trump is indicted and arrested in a New York hush money investigation, contradicting Trump, who on Saturday called on his supporters to “protest, take our country back!”
“I don’t think people should protest against this, no. And I think when you talk to him, President Trump doesn’t believe that either,” McCarthy, R-California, said in response to a question from NBC News at the House Republicans’ Orlando retreat.
He later said: “No one should harm each other … We want peace there.”
But at the same press conference, McCarthy defended Trump wholeheartedly, dismissing New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation as politically motivated and saying he was not interested in tackling New York City’s rising crime.
“Lawyer after lawyer will tell you this is the weakest case there is, trying to turn a crime into a crime,” McCarthy said, flanked by members of his leadership team in a courtyard of the JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes. .
“The last thing we want… is for someone to put their thumb on the scale [of justice] simply because they disagree with someone else’s political opinion,” McCarthy added. “That’s what’s wrong, and that’s what makes people furious. And this will not hold up in court if this is what he wants to do.”
Trump said Saturday on his social media platform Truth Social that “illegal leaks” from Bragg to the media suggest he, “the by far leading candidate” for president, will be arrested Tuesday, and called on his supporters to protest.
Bragg is investigating allegations that Trump made a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his victorious 2016 presidential campaign. Multiple sources said last week that law enforcement agencies in New York were preparing for a possible indictment of Trump as early as this week.
On Saturday, McCarthy took to Twitter to announce he was directing GOP-led House committees to investigate whether federal funding was being used to support Bragg’s investigation and “undermine our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions”.
A day later in Orlando, McCarthy reiterated his promise to investigate, saying he had already spoken with R-Ohio Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, who also heads the federal government’s select subcommittee on armaments.
“This directly applies to that,” McCarthy told reporters. “I think you’ll see actions from him.”
When asked if Trump should still run for president even if he is ultimately convicted, McCarthy pointed to the founding fathers of the country.
“The Constitution allows him to do that,” he said. “He has a constitutional right to flee.”
After McCarthy’s press conference, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a top Trump ally, that people have a constitutional right to protest peacefully. But she joined McCarthy in urging Trump supporters not to protest an indictment, saying they should instead join Trump at a March 25 rally in Waco, Texas.
“I’m going to go; I can’t wait to go there. I’m not going to New York. I’m going to Waco, Texas, and I’m going to join a bunch of people who support President Trump,” Greene told reporters.
“Because Save America rallies are like a great, big love fest. We all just say how much we love America and President Trump. I don’t have to protest.”
