In a report from NBC News, former President Donald Trump claimed “illegal leaks” indicated he would be arrested Tuesday through posts on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Trump stated he could soon face criminal charges in New York relating to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
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“I think in our country if a former president gets arrested, I think it’s bad in general,” said Gee Scott, co-host of The Gee & Ursula Show on KIRO Newsradio.
Gee made sure to bring up the arrest of Michael Cohen, an attorney for Trump for more than a decade, in 2018. Cohen was sentenced to three years in federal prison and was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for tax evasion.
“But one of the things he was guilty of was campaign finance violations, which stemmed from what happened with Stormy Daniels,” Gee continued. “So if you have sex with a porn star, that’s really nobody’s business. However, if you pay that porn star to keep quiet about it so that you can win an election, and reimburse yourself for that payment, and then lie about the whole thing while your own attorney, Michael Cohen, goes to jail for that very thing. If Michael Cohen goes to jail and there is a connection to you, then you, my friend, have to go to jail. It’s not rocket science.”
While many in the GOP have come to Trump’s defense, including Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence and the super PAC MAGA Inc., Ron DeSantis — the current governor of Florida and a well-rumored candidate to run for president in 2024 — used the opportunity to distance himself from Trump further.
“I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. I just can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, according to CBS News.
Only one president has ever been arrested while in office: Ulysses S. Grant in 1872 for excessive speeding on his horse and buggy. Alexander Hamilton was once charged with initiating a duel and killing a man, but those charges were dropped.
“What has happened now with former President Trump imploring his supporters to protest, protest, protest, is there are a lot of people in law enforcement who are really worried about what could potentially happen, given Jan. 6,” said Ursula Reutin, co-host of The Gee and Ursula Show.
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“It makes me sad that Donald Trump has so many people that back him, that support him, no matter what he says,” Gee responded. “I actually have empathy for those people. Here’s where I have the biggest problem. The amount of people that get paid. They get paid, and they know Donald Trump is not telling the truth. It is such a moneymaker. They know about the truth about Donald Trump, but they don’t want to do that because it takes away from their paychecks and/or their ratings.”
Members of the Republican party are even attempting to stave off any ideas of protesting, including Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official, and Kevin McCarthy, the Speaker of the House, arguing it would be wise to stay home.
“There is a shrinking percentage of Americans who are buying what Trump is selling,” said Andrew ‘Chef’ Lanier, the show’s producer. “And he tried to sell something this weekend. The pillar of his re-election campaign is they are coming after me. And if they can come after me, they’re going to come after you. Well, he released that news. And it was pretty much crickets amongst his support.”
Cohen recently spoke with Fox News, claiming he expects Trump to have his mugshot taken and be fingerprinted and swabbed. However, he also stated he does not expect Trump to be in handcuffs out of respect for the institution of the presidency.
“I will never surrender, and you will never surrender,” Trump said in a video last Friday about the investigation.
Listen to Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin weekday mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
