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House Speaker McCarthy criticizes expected criminal charge, opposes protests
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) listens to a question during a news conference in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. February 2, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy criticized the idea of criminally charging his fellow Republican Donald Trump, but opposed a call by the former president for protests in New York over his expected indictment.
“Lawyer after lawyer will tell you this is the weakest case out there, trying to make a misdemeanor a felony,” McCarthy said at the House Republicans’ retreat in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday.
But the California lawmaker also said, “I don’t think people should protest this, no. And I think President Trump, if you talk to him, he doesn’t believe that, either.”
Trump has said the exact opposite in a social media post, where he wrote that he “will be arrested on Tuesday,” and called on supporters to “Protest, take our nation back.”
McCarthy was among hundreds of lawmakers who fled to safety after a mob of Trump supporters invaded Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. The riot, which began after weeks of false claims by Trump that he had actually won the 2020 presidential election, disrupted for hours a joint session of Congress that was in the process of confirming the Electoral College victory of President Joe Biden.
— Dan Mangan
Manhattan DA Bragg tells staff safety is ‘top priority’ after Trump protests urged
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a news conference after former U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House chief strategist Steve Bannon arrived to surrender, in New York, U.S., September 8, 2022.
Caitlin Ochs | Reuters
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told his staff in an email that he will “not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York,” after Trump called on his supporters to protest his expected indictment.
Bragg also said in an email to staff, obtained by NBC News, that their safety is a “top priority,” and that the office’s law-enforcement parts are working on “proper safeguards … so all 1,600 of us have a secure work environment.”
Trump in a social media post wrote, “THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK.”
“PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” wrote Trump, who is seeking the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
Trump also called on his supporters to protest after he lost the 2020 election, resulting in a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021 that has led to at least 1,000 arrests and more than 500 guilty pleas or convictions.
— Dan Mangan
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