Republican leader Kevin McCarthy has called on Americans not to protest or turn to violence if or when Donald Trump is criminally indicted over the hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Speaking at a press conference at the House GOP issues retreat on Sunday, the House majority leader broke rank with the former president after he claimed his arrest was imminent and called on the American people to “take our nation back”.
“I don’t think people should protest this stuff,” Mr McCarthy said.
He went on to suggest that Mr Trump was not speaking “in a harmful way” but was calling for his followers “to educate people about what’s going on”.
“He’s not talking in a harmful way. Nobody should harm one another,” he said.
“And this is why you should really make law equal because if that was the case, nothing would happen.”
He doubled down on calls for calm, saying that there should be no “violence or harm” if Mr Trump is indicted.
“If was this to happen, we want calmness out there,” he said.
His comments come after Mr Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that he is expecting to be arrested on Tuesday following the investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
In a characteristic full-caps rant, he fumed about what he claims is “a corrupt & highly political Manhattan district attorney’s office” and called on his supporters to protest.
“NOW ILLEGAL LEAKS FROM A CORRUPT & HIGHLY POLITICAL MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE, WHICH HAS ALLOWED NEW RECORDS TO BE SET IN VIOLENT CRIME & WHOSE LEADER IS FUNDED BY GEORGE SOROS, INDICATE THAT, WITH NO CRIME BEING ABLE TO BE PROVEN, & BASED ON AN OLD & FULLY DEBUNKED (BY NUMEROUS OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRYTALE, 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!” he wrote on Truth Social.
His comments instantly drew comparisons to his rhetoric in the aftermath of his 2020 presidential election loss – rhetoric that ultimately culminated in the January 6 Capitol riots.
Mr Trump’s legal team later walked back the former president’s timeline for an arrest, confirming that they have not been notified that he will be indicted – or given a time for if or when it could happen.
New York officials are bracing for potential protests or unrest if or when an indictment lands.
Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have been preparing security plans, including additional security around the Manhattan Criminal Court where Mr Trump could appear to face charges.
Mr McCarthy isn’t the only Republican – or Mr Trump ally – to tamp down his call for protests.
MAGA Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene told reporters on Sunday that Mr Trump “of course” wants his supporters to be “peaceful” if they choose to protest – and added that she has no plans to protest a potential arrest.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with calling… for protests. Americans have the right to assemble and the right to protest,” she said, adding that Mr Trump “doesn’t have to say peaceful for it to mean peaceful. Of course, he means peaceful.”
“I don’t need to protest. I know what I’m going to do with the 2024 election. I’m going to vote every single Democrat out of office that I possibly can, and I’m going to spend all of my energy fundraising and fighting to end this extreme corruption in America. That’s what I think we should do,” she said.
But Greene added: “People have a right to choose.”
While refusing to back Mr Trump’s call to action to his supporters, Ms Greene and Mr McCarthy have both condemned the Manhattan DA’s investigation.
On Saturday, the House majority leader took to Twitter to brand the grand jury probe “an outrageous abuse of power” and an act of “political vengeance against President Trump” by Mr Bragg.
Manhattan prosecutors have been investigating whether Mr Trump falsified the Trump Organization’s business records when Mr Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen made a payment of $130,0000 to Ms Daniels days before the 2016 election.
Prosecutors claim that the money was used to silence Ms Daniels about an alleged affair she had with Mr Trump.
Mr Trump has long denied having an affair with the adult film star.
Mr Trump’s former fixer and personal attorney Michael Cohen was convicted of tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations related to the payments to Ms Daniels. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
The investigation into Mr Trump’s role in the payments has ramped up over the last week Ms Daniels and Cohen both testifying before the grand jury last week.
Now, Robert Costello – a one-time ally turned critic of Cohen – is expected to testify before the grand jury.
Mr Costello, an attorney who once worked as a legal adviser to Cohen, told CNN that he will appear before the Manhattan grand jury on Monday at the request of the former president’s legal team.
A source told the outlet that it was Mr Costello who had reached out to both the DA’s office and Mr Trump’s legal team to offer evidence in the case.
Mr Costello, who has previously represented Mr Trump allies Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani, is expected to contradict public statements Cohen has made about the payments to Ms Daniels and cast doubts on his credibility.
Cohen, the prosecutors’ star witness in the case, also revealed that he has been asked to make himself available as a rebuttal witness on Monday.
It is currently unclear if the pair will be the final witnesses before the grand jury votes whether or not to criminally indict the former president.
Mr Trump had also been invited by the Manhattan DA to testify – an invitation he unsurprisingly turned down.
While it was an invitation he was unlikely to accept, it sent the clearest signal to date that he could be criminally indicted.
Under New York law, a person has a right to appear before a grand jury before a prosecutor asks the grand jury to indict them on charges.
If prosecuted, Mr Trump would become the first former president in American history to face criminal charges.
