Trump’s ex-lawyer defends DeSantis’ silence on possible Manhattan indictment

Jenna Ellis, who was previously Donald Trump’s attorney, has defended Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ silence as the former president faces possible indictment in New York.

Trump said Saturday morning on Truth Social that he believed authorities would arrest him on Tuesday following Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into an alleged 2016 silent payment made to the movie star for adults Stormy Daniels about an alleged affair between the two, which Trump has denied. . Specifically, prosecutors are investigating whether the payment made by Trump’s campaign violated campaign finance laws. Meanwhile, the former president called the district attorney’s investigation a politically motivated “witch hunt.”

Although many Republicans have spoken out against Bragg’s investigation, some of Trump’s top potential rivals in 2024, including DeSantis, who has yet to announce whether he plans to run for president, and the former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, remained silent on the potential indictment, sparking outrage from some conservatives.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman running in the GOP presidential primary, on Sunday called on GOP candidates to speak out against the possible indictment.

“I’ve called on my fellow GOP candidates @RonDeSantisFL and @NikkiHaley to join me in condemning Trump’s potential indictment because those of us *running against Trump* can very credibly call on the prosecutor of Manhattan to drop this disastrously politicized lawsuit. I pray the DA does the right thing: We are skating on thin ice as a country right now. We need a national revival, not a national divorce, Ramaswamy tweeted.

However, Ellis, who worked as legal counsel for Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, defended DeSantis in response to his tweet, reiterating that the Florida governor has not officially announced a presidential candidacy.

“Ron DeSantis is not a candidate, however,” Ellis wrote. “The Trump PAC just slapped him with an ethics violation for (supposedly) acting like a candidate when he’s not, and now the base wants him to act like one? I can’t have it both ways.”

Ellis referenced a filing from a pro-Trump PAC that accused DeSantis of running a “shadow presidential campaign,” which they said would violate Florida state ethics laws, including one that would force him to resign as governor to run for president. .

Ellis added that she thought DeSantis “was smart and acted like a governor” by not interfering in the matter.

Other conservative influencers, however, called out DeSantis for not chastising the survey. Conservative radio host Sebastian Gorka recently posted on Truth Social, “So is DeSantis going to say anything? Curious.” While Gettr CEO Jason Miller tweeted Saturday that there was “radio silence” from DeSantis and Haley.

In an emailed press release on Saturday, the Trump campaign also pointed to the silence of potential or announced 2024 candidates. “We have yet to hear from Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo, Tim Scott and d ‘others,’ the statement read.

Newsweek contacted the DeSantis office and the Haley campaign via email for comment.