McCarthy accuses Manhattan DA of abusing his power to arrest Trump

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 Mar 22:14

This comes mere hours after Trump stated on the social media platform Truth Social, that he predicts he would be arrested on March 21 and called on his supporters to mobilize and take on the streets.

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at a news conference at Capitol Hill in Washington, US, on December 3, 2021 (Reuters)

The Manhattan District Attorney has been blamed by US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Saturday for exploiting his power in an attempt of "political vengeance" against former US President Donald Trump.

On Twitter, McCarthy wrote: "Here we go again — an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA [district attorney] who lets violent criminals walk as he pursues political vengeance against President Trump,"

Here we go again — an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA who lets violent criminals walk as he pursues political vengeance against President Trump.

I’m directing relevant committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by… https://t.co/elpbh7LeWn
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) March 18, 2023

In the same tweet, the speaker stressed his intention to direct 'relevant committees' to look into whether elections "with politically motivated prosecutions" against Trump are being toyed with using public federal funds. Trump announced in December that he was running for the 2024 presidential election.

This comes mere hours after Trump stated on the social media platform Truth Social, that he predicts he would be arrested on March 21 and called on his supporters to mobilize and take on the streets.

Trump criticized the Manhattan DA's Office for a "corrupt and highly political" effort to arrest him on "old and fully debunked" charges, which explains McCarthy's accusation.

'Take our nation back'

The "fully debunked" allegations stated that he paid Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress whose real name is Stephanie Gregory Clifford, hush money to keep quiet about the affair between them.

Citing a "leak" from the Manhattan district attorney's office, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday morning: "Leading Republican candidate & former President of the United States of America will be arrested on Tuesday of next week. Protest, take our nation back!"

Michael Cohen, the former attorney in charge of the Trump case, pleaded guilty in 2018 on federal charges concerning offering Clifford $130,000 as hush money after she claimed she had an affair with Trump, who in turn denies.

Trump's possible arrest however may not be all bad - at least for tech giant Elon Musk. "If this happens, Trump will be re-elected in a landslide victory," Musk said on Twitter.