US: DeSantis says Florida will not assist in Donald Trump's extradition

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Ron DeSantis criticized the "political agenda" surrounding the case and accused the Manhattan District Attorney of "stretching the law to target a political opponent."

Notably, Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, is a probable candidate in the Republican party to run for the upcoming US Presidential elections. It is pertinent to note here that Trump's residence Mar-a-Lago is also located in Florida.

Ron DeSantis tweeted, "And The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American. The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent. Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda."

An arrest warrant is typically issued automatically after an indictment is filed against a defendant who has not been charged previously in a criminal complaint, The Washington Post reported.

In Donald Trump's case, the indictment was filed behind closed doors at the lower Manhattan courthouse after the clerk's office was closed for the day.

The grand jury had been hearing evidence about hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump's presidential campaign in 2016, as per the news report.

Former US President Donald Trump was at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home and a private club on Thursday when his lawyers said he had been indicted, The Washington Post reported. Security will be a concern considering that Trump has a significant Secret Service detail as a former president, the report said.

The indictment makes Trump the first person in the history of the US to serve as commander-in-chief and then be charged with a crime. This came weeks after speculation about whether and when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg might take a step.

The grand jury had been hearing evidence about hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump's presidential campaign in 2016, as per the news report. Alvin Bragg and his investigative team were probing whether Trump falsified business records related to the payments in a manner that could make a campaign finance violation, as reported by The Washington Post.

Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina, the lawyers who have been representing Trump in the Bragg case, in a statement, said that their client was indicted. They further said, "He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court," according to The Washington Post report. Trump has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing and stressed that those probing him were making politically motivated accusations. (ANI)