Thursday, 25 Apr 2024

McCarthy orders congressional probe of local district attorney investigating Trump

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Saturday announced a congressional investigation into the local prosecutors reportedly preparing to indict former President Trump.

Driving the news: Trump said in a Truth Social post on Saturday he expects to be arrested on Tuesday as part of a Manhattan District Attorney investigation into hush money payments he allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

  • Law enforcement agencies are reportedly preparing for the fallout from an indictment of Trump as soon as next week.

What they’re saying: McCarthy accused Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg of “an outrageous abuse of power” and of “pursu[ing] political vengeance against President Trump” in a tweet posted Saturday morning.

  • “I’m directing relevant committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions,” McCarthy said.
  • Leading GOP hardliners in the House, including Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), signaled support for the probe.

The other side: Democratic lawmakers quickly accused McCarthy of his own abuse of power by using the federal government to crack down on local law enforcement.

  • “The guy who created a committee to look into ‘weaponization of government’ is using his powers in government to stop an independent prosecution of his boss,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) tweeted in response.

The big picture: The new probe would fit into a network of investigations House Republicans are pursuing against other government bodies who they’ve accused of “weaponizing” federal resources to target conservatives.

  • Spokespeople for the House Oversight Committee and the Judiciary Committee, which have led most of the probes, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
  • McCarthy and Bragg did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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