Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted the indictment of former President Donald Trump on Thursday, saying he won’t comply with an extradition order from New York.
“The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head,” DeSantis said in a statement published on Twitter. “It is un-American. The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct.”
DeSantis was referring to billionaire Democratic donor George Soros’ Foundation to Promote Open Society funneling millions of dollars to the Community Resource Hub for Safety and Accountability, which provides resources to “local advocates and organizations working to address the harm of policing in the US,” according to its website.
Through the hub, the Justice and Safety PAC and 20 other similar groups have focused on getting district attorneys elected nationwide to implement policies that abolish bail, release violent offenders, and defund the police. In cities like Houston where these policies, including “bail reform,” have been implemented, crime has skyrocketed, in part caused by repeat violent offenders being released onto the streets.
“Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent,” DeSantis said of New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda.”
On Thursday, a New York grand jury indicted Trump over allegedly misreporting payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair she had with Trump. The former president denies he ever had such an affair.
Daniels sued Trump for defamation and lost her appeal last year before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She owes the president nearly $300,000 in legal fees. After the 9th Circuit ruling, she tweeted, “I will go to jail before I pay a penny.”
Florida Lt. Gov. Jeannette Nunez agreed with DeSantis, saying, “It’s true. Political agendas have no place in a court of law. We are a country of laws, not men. Florida will not tolerate one man, a Soros-backed prosecutor, using our justice system to advance a politically motivated stunt to score points.”
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody also agreed, saying, “Upon learning of the NY DA indictment, I am heartbroken by the damage this targeted prosecution will do to the integrity of our justice system. It is a sad day in the story of the United States.”
Nikki Fried, former Democratic Florida gubernatorial candidate who lost in the Democratic primary to Charlie Crist, took to Twitter to post several comments criticizing DeSantis.
“Breaking the law is un-American and blaming it on George Soros is anti-Semitic,” she said, adding “How pathetic is Ron DeSantis? I mean, the groveling, the poll numbers, all of it.”
She also pointed to DeSantis removing a state attorney who refused to enforce state law, saying, “You know there has been an actual, proven unlawful and unconstitutional weaponization of the law – your removal of State Attorney Andrew Warren.”
Last August, DeSantis suspended Warren of the 13th Judicial Circuit citing “neglect of duty” for his decision not to prosecute individuals who violate the state’s 15-week abortion ban.
The governor has the authority to suspend a state officer under Article IV, Section 7 of the state constitution and did so by issuing an executive order. State attorneys are state officers constitutionally elected to serve as prosecuting officers of all trial courts within each judicial circuit and are not subject to impeachment.
“State Attorneys have a duty to prosecute crimes as defined in Florida law, not to pick and choose which laws to enforce based on his personal agenda,” DeSantis said at the time.
Trump, a Florida resident, blasted the indictment, issuing several statements on social media referring to the indictment as “political persecution” and “a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement.”
Bethany Blankley
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Reposted with permission
