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Donald Trump Published April 1, 2023 12:36pm EDT

Former Trump rival Jeb Bush calls

Manhattan grand jury indictment 'very
political'
Decrying the Trump indictment, Bush said the grand jury's decision is 'not a matter of justice'

By Kyle Morris | Fox News

Trump’s indictment ‘energizes the base, is roiling the donor class’: Charlie Gasparino
FOX Business’ Charlie Gasparino weighs what impact the indictment of former President Donald Trump will have on 2024 finances.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Saturday that a Manhattan grand jury's decision to
indict former President Donald Trump during his third bid for the White House is "very
political" and "not a matter of justice."

Bush, who challenged Trump for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, noted in a tweet
that Trump was indicted on case that other prosecutors refused to move forward with
before Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office revived it recently.

"Bragg’s predecessor didn’t take up the case. The Justice Department didn’t take up the
case. Bragg first said he would not take up the case. This is very political, not a matter of
justice," Bush, the second son of former President George H.W. Bush wrote in a tweet.

"In this case, let the jury be the voters," he added.

DEMS WHO ACCUSED TRUMP OF TRYING TO JAIL OPPONENTS VOICE SUPPORT FOR
TRUMP GRAND JURY INDICTMENT

The exact charges of the indictment are still under seal, but Trump attorney Joe Tacopina
said Thursday evening Trump could face more than 30 counts next week when he’s
arraigned.

Bragg has been investigating Trump for hush money payments made leading up to the
2016 presidential election. These include the $130,000 payment made to adult film
actress Stormy Daniels, and the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen
McDougal .

From left to right: Former Florrida Gov. Jeb Bush, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and former President Donald
Trump. (Bryan Bedder, Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg, : Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Fox News reported and revealed in 2018 a series of hush money payments made to both
McDougal and Daniels, and the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York
and the Federal Election Commission both investigated those payments.

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump
related to the Daniels payment in 2019, even as Michael Cohen, a former Trump attorney,
implicated him as part of a plea deal. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its
investigation into the matter in 2021.

TOP HOUSE, SENATE REPUBLICANS OUTRAGED ABOUT TRUMP INDICTMENT: 'A DARK
DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY'

Trump reacted to the indictment by slamming Bragg for his "obsession" with trying to "get
Trump," while warning the move to charge a former president of the United States will
"backfire" on President Biden.

After a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, a Manhattan grand jury voted Thursday to
indict former President Donald Trump. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,"
Trump said in a statement. "From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump
Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical
Left Democrats – the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country – have
been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement."

Bush's comments align with those made by other Republicans who currently serve in Get the latest updates from the 2024
campaign trail, exclusive interviews and
Congress.
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"As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred
system of justice against President Donald Trump. The American people will not tolerate Subscribe
this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his
unprecedented abuse of power to account," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy R-Calif., said ,

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Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the Manhattan grand jury's indictment of Trump is an "injustice" and 1 hour ago
that Americans "will not tolerate" it. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Biden visits
University of
Pennsylvania
campus for the first
time since classified
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise R-La., also stated in a tweet Thursday that the "sham
,
documents
New York indictment of President Donald Trump is one of the clearest examples of controversy
extremist Democrats weaponizing government to attack their political opponents.
Outrageous."

The charges against Trump come amid a separate, special counsel investigation into his
alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago
home in Florida.

Fox News' Brooke Singman and Brianna Herlihy contributed to this article.

Kyle Morris covers politics for Fox News. Story tips can be sent to kyle.morris@fox.com and on
Twitter: @RealKyleMorris .

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