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.
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 the 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.
- “[McCarthy] is right, and I fully support his call for an investigation,” tweeted Mon. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). “No federal dollars should be used to prop up this radical, Soros-backed activist attorney or his gross political attacks.”
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.
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.
- Rep. Stacey Plaskett (DV.I.), the ranking member of Judiciary’s “weaponization” subcommittee, said McCarthy is trying to “weaponize Congress to interfere in the rule of law and use committees to re-elect the twice impeached former president.”
- “Speaker … who has no idea what evidence the state DA has in support of a grand jury indictment seeks to ‘weaponize’ the federal government to undermine the rule of law for political purposes,” tweeted Rep. Dan Goldman (DN.Y.), another member of the panel.
Go deeper: Timeline: The probe into Trump’s alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels
Trump predicts he’ll be arrested Tuesday, calls for protests
