Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke out against the possible arrest of former President Donald Trump, arguing the move would be a “politically charged prosecution.”
“It just feels like a politically charged prosecution here. And I, for my part, I just feel like it’s just not what the American people want to see,” Pence said when asked about the potential arrest during a Sunday appearance on ABC News’ “This Week.”
“I’m taken aback at the idea of indicting a former president of the United States, at a time when there’s a crime wave in New York City, that – the fact that the Manhattan D.A. thinks that indicting President Trump is his top priority.”
The former vice president’s remarks come after Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform Saturday that he could be arrested on Tuesday, arguing there had been “illegal leaks” of the investigation’s details to the press.
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The case against Trump surrounds alleged hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels just days before the 2016 election, with investigators probing whether Trump falsified documents to hide the reason for the payments.
Trump later called for protests in response to his possible arrest, telling followers: “WE MUST SAVE AMERICA! PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!”
Pence defended the right of Trump supporters to protest the possible arrest, so long as they “do so peacefully and in a lawful manner.”
Pence also decried protests such as those in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death and on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol, arguing violent demonstrations are a “disgrace.”
“The American people won’t tolerate it and those that engage in that kind of violence should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Pence said.