GOP governor reacts to Trump call to protest: ‘Political circus’

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu reacted on Sunday to former President Donald Trump’s call for a protest against his possible arrest and indictment by New York prosecutors next week.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is investigating a $130,000 refund to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen for a payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with Trump in 2006.

The former president is under investigation for money paid to Daniels by Cohen to keep the alleged affair secret before the 2016 presidential election. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and has strongly criticized the ‘investigation. On Saturday morning, the former president called on his supporters to protest his possible indictment after predicting he would be arrested on Tuesday.

Trump’s call for protests has raised concerns about possible violent protests similar to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, when he “told his supporters to ‘fight like hell’ after losing the 2020 presidential election which he said was due to widespread voter fraud. That day, Trump also told the crowd that they “don’t have a country anymore.” His supporters then took to storming the Capitol building in an attempt to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.

CNN State of the Union Host Jake Tapper asked Sununu on Sunday if he thinks Trump has a responsibility to make sure his supporters protest peacefully to avoid a repeat of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021.

“Look, if somebody’s calling for protests, you always want to make sure they’re peaceful. And we know that’s going to happen. And it’s happened before. In long history, in recent history in America, people are still out there protesting what they see as a wrongful arrest or wrongful charge. But you want to make sure it’s peaceful. We don’t want history to repeat itself in a way too negative. But – then it’s going to happen there.

He continued: “And it’s not – you can’t just put it on the former president. It’s our responsibility, on the right, in society, in our communities, to make sure that, if we have something to say, we do it in the right way and making sure that we have a positive effect in the future. But it’s going to be a circus, isn’t it? It’s going to be a bit of a political circus There are going to be a lot of unknowns [about possible charges against Trump].”

In his call to protest, Trump wrote in all caps on his Truth Social: “‘NOW ILLEGAL LEAKS FROM CORRUPTED AND HIGHLY POLITICAL MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE WHICH HAS HELPED SET NEW RECORDS IN VIOLENT CRIME AND WHOSE LEADER IS FUNDED BY GEORGE SOROS, INDICATES THAT, WITH NO CRIME CAN BE PROVEN, AND BASED ON AN OLD AND FULLY DISASSEMBLED (BY MANY OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRY TALE, THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE BY FAR AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE BACK OUR NATION!”

In their investigation against Trump, New York prosecutors found that the Trump Organization recorded the reimbursement to Cohen as a legal fee. However, it is against New York State law for businesses to misclassify the nature of expenses. This could lead to a misdemeanor charge for Trump, which could later become a felony if the misclassification took place in order to cover up another crime.

Additionally, Cohen testified before a grand jury over two days last week and has already pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges after helping with payment arrangements, while Daniels spoke to New York prosecutors on Wednesday. .

Newsweek contacted Trump’s media office by email for comment.