Fmr. VP Pence slams Trump’s potential arrest
(CNN, KYMA/KECY) - Former Vice President Mike Pence is coming to the defense of his previous boss, Donald Trump, who said yesterday he expects to be arrested this coming week.
Pence is joining other Republicans who are outraged while some Democrats say Trump's push to protest his potential arrest is reckless.
The nation braces for what would be an American first, the indictment of a former president; a potential move former Vice President Mike Pence called a "political prosecution."
"The idea of indicting a former president is deeply troubling to me as it is to tens of millions of Americans, particularly happening in what appears to be a politically charged environment in New York," Pence spoke.
Background
On Saturday, Trump posted he "will be arrested on Tuesday." The Manhattan DA is not commenting.
At least one grand jury witness has been seen in recent days as investigators look into the former president's alleged role in a 2016 hush-money scheme to hide allegations he had an affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump's attorney said the former president was "Basing his response on press reports."
Trump ended his post declaring, "Protest, take our nation back."
Response
Pence, who said Trump's words on January 6, 2021 "endangered" his family, remarked that people had a right to express themselves.
"But that being said, there can be no tolerance for the kind of violence that we saw in January 6th or throughout the summer of 2020," Pence added.
But Democrat and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump's post was "reckless. Doing so to keep himself in the news and to foment unrest among his supporters. He cannot hide from his violations of the law, disrespect for our elections and incitements to violence."
On Sunday, Donald Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, said he will testify again Monday before the grand jury as a rebuttal witness. However, Cohen did not know any further details about what or whom he would be rebutting.