Former President Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social Thursday to respond to the federal indictment filed against him stemming from the special counsel’s classified documents probe.
“It’s a hoax. The whole thing is a hoax just like Russia, Russia, Russia,” he said. “They come after me because now we’re leading in the polls by a lot against Biden and against the Republicans.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted the “weaponization of federal law enforcement” in response to the news that former President Trump had been indicted on Thursday.
“The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society. We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation,” DeSantis said in a tweet.
“Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary [Clinton] or Hunter [Biden]? The DeSantis administration will bring accountability to the Department of Justice, excise political bias and end weaponization once and for all,” he added.
DeSantis’s comments came in response to an announcement from Trump, who said his attorneys had been alerted that he had been indicted in relation to a probe looking into his handling of classified documents that were found at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump said he was summoned to appear in court in Miami next Tuesday.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, also running for the Republican nomination for the White House, said in a tweet, “As I have said before, no one is above the law, no matter how much they wish they were, we will have more to say when the facts are revealed.”
We don’t get our news from Trump’s Truth Social account. Let’s see what the facts are when any possible indictment is released. As I have said before, no one is above the law, no matter how much they wish they were. We will have more to say when the facts are revealed.
— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) June 9, 2023
Florida Senator Marco Rubio also sent out a tweet shortly after the indictment news broke:
There is no limit to what these people will do to protect their power & destroy those who threaten it, even if it means ripping our country apart & shredding public faith in the institutions that hold our republic together
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 9, 2023
House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy also tweeted: “It is unconscionable for a president to indict the leading candidate opposing him.”
Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, whose congression district includes Pensacola and portions of the Florida Panhandle said, “The indictment reflects the most severe election interference we have EVER seen!”
The White House declined to comment on the indictment. An administration official said the White House was not given advance notice of the indictment and learned about it from media reports.
President Joe Biden was in the East Room of the White House Thursday when he was asked about the Department of Justice investigation against his predecessor.
“I have never once, not one single time, suggested to the Justice Department what to do or not to do about bringing charges or not bringing any charges. I’m honest,” he said.