Former Republican Chair Blasts Trump's Defenders as Indictment Looms

As many prominent GOP leaders line up to defend Donald Trump and criticize the justice system amid reports that the former president is likely be criminally charged in New York as soon as this week, one former chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) is pushing back.

Speculation swirled in recent days that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg may be on the verge of indicting Trump. The charges are expected to be in relation to an alleged 2016 campaign finance violation involving "hush money" payments to adult performer Stephanie Clifford, better known by her stage name Stormy Daniels.

Media reports last week and over the weekend suggested that the former president could be arrested and charged imminently. Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, added substantial fuel to the speculation on Saturday morning by posting on his social media platform Truth Social that he would be indicted on Tuesday—urging his supporters to protest.

In response to the news, Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence and Representative Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican who chairs the House Republican Conference, slammed the possibility of criminal charges against the former president from Bragg's office. Michael Steele, who led the RNC from 2009 to 2011, took issue with both prominent Republicans' takes on the potential indictment.

"Why the hell are you 'taken aback by the idea of indicting a former President' who has engaged in criminal behavior? Why continue to make excuses for Trump who would rather see you hanged & rancid behavior you decry in others?" Steele tweeted Sunday, sharing a clip of an ABC News interview with Pence.

"His base will not vote for you. Get over it," Steele, who has long criticized Trump and his faction of the GOP, added.

In the interview with ABC News, Pence criticized Bragg for pushing forward with the case against Trump, saying he was "taken aback at the idea of indicting a former president of the United States."

"At a time when there's a crime wave in New York City, the fact that the Manhattan DA thinks that indicting President Trump is his top priority I think just tells you everything you need to know about the radical left in this country," the former vice president said.

Steele's comment about Trump preferring to see Pence "hanged" was an apparent reference to the January 2021 Capitol riots. During that attack targeting the federal legislative branch of government, many of Trump's supporters chanted "Hang Mike Pence." A gallows was also erected outside the building.

Previously on Saturday, the former RNC chair responded to a statement from Stefanik, who described her remarks as her "full statement on the illegal leaks stating that President Trump will be arrested next week."

"This is just a continuation of the disgraceful and unconstitutional pattern going back to the illegal Russian collusion hoax to attempt to silence and suppress the will of the voters who support President Trump and the America First Movement," she said in her statement.

Steele contended that Trump was responsible for the "leaks," dismissing Stefanik's assessment.

"Elise, the 'leak' came from Trump," he tweeted. "Trump declared on Truth Social at 7:30 am he will be arrested on Tuesday. His spokesman issues a statement saying Trump had not written his post with direct knowledge of the timing of any arrest. So he not only leaked it but lied about it."

Earlier on Saturday, Steele shared a screenshot of Trump's Truth Social post saying he'd be indicted on Tuesday. The former RNC chair posted his thoughts in response.

"I'm tired of hearing any indictment of Trump is 'unprecedented'. Yes it is because it's UNPRECEDENTED for a former president to pay hush money to a porn star. And this unhinged response? We've seen his desire for violence before. And for the #GOP it's all 'politically motivated,'" he wrote.

Newsweek reached out to press representatives for Pence and Stefanik via email for comment.

The polarization among prominent Republicans relating to Trump is nothing new and has been a defining feature of the former president's influence over the GOP. Hans Noel, an associate professor at Georgetown University whose research focuses on political coalitions, political parties, and ideology, told Newsweek that Trump's possible indictment wouldn't change the existing Republican dispute.

"I think this isn't going to change any of the main cleavages. But one of those divisions has been about what the party's attitude should be toward Trump, from holding him accountable to moving on past him to embracing him as a leader in the party," Noel said. "This will give everyone more fodder in that discussion. That may make it harder to shift to new issues."

The former president and his allies say that the investigation and possible indictment in New York are politically motivated. They say that Democrats are working through the justice system in an effort to prevent Trump from winning in 2024 and to suppress his political movement.

Bragg, a Democrat, and analysts who support an indictment, have said that nobody is above the law, regardless of their political status. The district attorney has said that his investigation is simply following the facts. If Trump is indicted, it will be the first time in U.S. history that a former president is criminally charged.

Newsweek reached out to Bragg's office via email for comment.

"President Trump is rightfully highlighting his innocence and the weaponization of our injustice system," a spokesperson for Trump told Newsweek on Saturday.

Update, 3/20/2023 at 1:45 p.m. ET: Comment from Hans Noel was added.