Pence calls possible Trump indictment ‘politically charged prosecution’

Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday that any potential indictment against former President Donald Trump over campaign finances connected to a hush-money payment to a porn star would be a “politically charged prosecution.”

Mr. Pence’s defense came despite recent criticism of his past boss and an expected 2024 presidential run.

“I’m 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, that the fact that the Manhattan DA thinks that indicting President Trump is his top priority, just tells you everything you need to know about the radical left in this country,” Mr. Pence said on ABC’s “This Week.” “It just feels like a politically charged prosecution here.”

Mr. Trump has said he believes he will be arrested in the coming days for a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election. He has called on supporters to protest. 

Mr. Pence said he supports the idea of a peaceful protest but warned against violence similar to that during the U.S. Capitol riot, where the former vice president and lawmakers were put in danger. 
 
“The frustration the American people feel about what they sense is a two tiered justice system in this country, I think is well founded but I believe that people understand that if they give voice to this, if this occurs, that they need to do so peacefully and in a lawful manner,” he said. “That the violence that occurred on January 6, the violence that occurred in cities throughout this country in the summer of 2020 was a disgrace. The American people won’t tolerate it and those that engage in that kind of violence should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”