ORLANDO, Florida - House Speaker Kevin McCarthy urged calm Sunday, and said Americans should not protest if former President Donald Trump is arrested and indicted in a hush-money investigation in New York, contradicting Trump, who called on his supporters Saturday to Protest, take our nation back! I think President Trump, if you talk to him, doesn't believe that, either. McCarthy, R-Calif, said in response to a question from NBC News during the House Republicans retreat in Orlando.
He said later: Nobody should harm another. We want calmness out there. McCarthy gave a full defense of Trump, dismissing New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation as politically motivated and saying he is not interested in cracking down on rising crime in New York City.
The lawyer after lawyer tells you this is the weakest case out there, trying to make a misdemeanor a crime, said McCarthy, flanked by members of his leadership team in an outdoor courtyard at JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes.
The last thing we want is someone putting their thumb on the scale of justice simply because they don't agree with somebody else's political view, McCarthy said. That is what is wrong, and that is what infuriates people. If this is what he wants to do, he won't be 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 that he, the far away leader candidate for president, will be arrested Tuesday, and he called for his supporters to protest.
Bragg is investigating allegations that Trump made a hush-money payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Multiple sources said last week that New York law enforcement agencies were preparing for a possible Trump indictment as soon as this week.
On Saturday, McCarthy took to Twitter to announce that he was leading House committees to launch investigations into whether federal funding was being used to support Bragg's probe and undermine our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions. A day later in Orlando, McCarthy reiterated his pledge to investigate, saying he had already spoken to Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who also leads the select subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government.
McCarthy told reporters that this applies directly to that. McCarthy punted to the nation's founders, asked if Trump should still run for president, even if he's convicted.
He said that the Constitution allows him to. He has a constitutional right to run. After McCarthy's news conference, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a top Trump ally, said people had the constitutional right to peacefully protest. 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 to Waco, Texas, and I'm going to join up with a bunch of people that support President Trump, Greene told reporters.
Save America rallies are like a big love fest. We're all saying how much we love America and President Trump.