GOP Presidential Hopeful Responds to Possible Donald Trump Arrest: ‘Dark Moment’

Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower the day after FBI agents raided his Mar-a-Lago Palm Beach home, in New York, on Aug. 9, 2022. David 'Dee' Delgado/Reuters

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said that rumors and reports claiming former President Donald Trump could be arrested soon are a “dark moment” in U.S. history.

“It is un-American for the ruling party to use police power to arrest its political rivals,” Ramaswamy, a tech entrepreneur who recently declared his GOP candidacy, wrote on Twitter Saturday. “If a Republican prosecutor in 2004 had used a campaign finance technicality to arrest then-candidate John Kerry while Bush & Cheney were in power, liberals would have cried foul—and rightly so.”

“This will mark a dark moment in American history and will undermine public trust in our electoral system itself,” Ramaswamy also wrote. “I call on the Manhattan District Attorney to reconsider this action and to put aside partisan politics in service of preserving our Constitutional republic.”

Later on Saturday, Ramaswamy called on former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who announced a Republican run for president, and Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—who is also reportedly mulling a presidential bid—to denounce Bragg.

“I held a press conference following my South Carolina speech. I called on GOP donor class favorites [DeSantis] and [Haley] to join me by 9 a.m. tomorrow in calling on the Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg to abandon the political persecution through prosecution of the 45th president,” he said.

Neither DeSantis, who has not indicated whether he plans to run for president nor Haley has made any comment on the reports. Former Vice President Mike Pence, however, criticized Bragg—who received $1 million from left-wing billionaire George Soros’ Color for Change political action committee—for wanting to allegedly indict Trump when New York City has seen a surge in violent crime in recent years.

“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,” Pence told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “The fact that the Manhattan DA thinks that indicting President Trump is his top priority, I think … just tells you everything you need to know about the radical left in this country.”

Despite the reports, Bragg’s office has not publicly confirmed whether he’s going to indict Trump. Unnamed court sources told several news outlets that the arrest would be in connection to Trump having allegedly paid $130,000 to adult actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign.

An unnamed source told Fox News that Bragg’s office will meet with officials next week to “discuss logistics” and that “would mean that they are anticipating an indictment next week.” The Epoch Times has contacted Bragg’s office for comment.

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., on March 3, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

More unnamed sources have told Reuters that Bragg’s office has looked into evidence to a grand jury about the payment. Trump has denied there was any malfeasance and has long described the investigation as a politically motivated witch hunt.

Trump Responds

With the reports of his looming indictment surfacing, Trump sharply criticized Bragg and Democrats on his Truth Social account on Saturday. The 45th president said that “illegal leaks” from the “corrupt & highly political” Manhattan DA’s office indicate that he will be arrested Tuesday, March 21.

“Protest, take our nation back!” Trump urged his supporters in the message.

A spokesman for Trump told The Epoch Times that the former president had not been notified of any arrest.

“There has been no notification, other than illegal leaks from the Justice Dept. and the DA’s office, to NBC and other fake news carriers, that the George Soros-funded Radical Left Democrat prosecutor in Manhattan has decided to take his Witch-Hunt to the next level,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said. “President Trump is rightfully highlighting his innocence and the weaponization of our injustice system,” he added.