In SC, DeSantis addresses report Trump will be indicted in Jan. 6 investigation. Here’s what he said
As former President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he expects to be indicted in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Trump’s biggest rival in the 2024 GOP presidential race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, faced questions about the news at an appearance in South Carolina.
DeSantis was in Columbia on Tuesday morning filing for candidacy in the state’s Republican primary election, slated for February, becoming the first Republican candidate to officially secure their place on the state’s ballot.
Addressing reporters at a news conference devoted to his plans to reform so-called “wokeness” in the military, DeSantis was asked about the news of Trump’s potential new indictment.
DeSantis said he had not seen the latest news about a possible indictment but said that he’s seen an attempt to “criminalize politics and criminalize differences.”
“Criminal charges is not just because you may have done something wrong. It’s did you behave criminally?” said DeSantis, who has consistently trailed Trump in second place in GOP primary polling. DeSantis, so far, has been Trump’s closest competitor among a crowded Republican field.
“Meanwhile,” DeSantis added, “Hunter Biden, he would’ve been in jail if he were a Republican. One of my jobs as president will be to end the weaponization of these agencies, and I will get that job done.”
When asked whether he believed Trump’s actions were wrong in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection, DeSantis said, “I think it was shown how he was in the White House and didn’t do anything while things were going on. He should have come out more forcefully ... but to try to criminalize that, that’s a different issue entirely.”
Trump said Tuesday that he received a letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith that he is the target of a grand jury investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, signaling that the former president is likely to face charges in the probe, McClatchy DC and other news outlets reported.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said that he received the “horrifying news” from his attorneys on Sunday night.
“Nothing like this has ever happened in our country before, or even close,” the former president said.
The former president has refused to accept that he lost the 2020 presidential election, and encouraged supporters on Jan. 6, 2021 to disrupt Congress’ certification of the results. A mob stormed the Capitol, temporarily halting the process and resulting in several deaths.
Trump already is facing a federal indictment surrounding his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House along with felony charges in New York related to allegedly falsifying business records in an attempt to cover up extramarital affairs ahead of the 2016 election.
McClatchy D.C. reporter Michael Wilner contributed.
This story was originally published July 18, 2023 at 11:39 AM.