Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an ally of Trump’s, might refuse to extradite the former president if he is criminally charged in New York.
Jane Mayer reported in The New Yorker:
Trump has already demonstrated a willingness to engage in almost unthinkable tactics to protect himself. Among his social circle in Palm Beach, speculation abounds that Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, an ally, might not honor an extradition request from New York if a bench warrant were issued for Trump’s arrest.
Dave Aronberg, the state’s attorney for Palm Beach County, doubts that such defiance would stand. Extradition, he points out, is a constitutional duty, and a governor’s role in it is merely “ministerial.” But he admitted that the process might not go smoothly: “You know what? I thought January 6th would go smoothly. Congress’s role was just ministerial then, too.” (DeSantis did not respond to a request for comment.)
DeSantis could put up a stink because he also has 2024 presidential ambitions, and being seen as the guy who refused to turn over Trump to the cops would be viewed as a political asset with Republican primary voters.
It wouldn’t work. Trump would end up being extradited, but it would give Trump the MAGA martyrdom that he constantly craves and needs.
The fact that the conversation about Trump being criminally charged has reached the point where those in his social circle are debating his extradition is telling. Vance is retiring at the end of the year, but he will have to decide whether or not criminally charge Trump before he leaves office.
The quasi-joke that Trump moved to Florida to avoid extradition might not be a joke at all, as he may think, just as he thought that he could overthrow the government, that his pal DeSantis will keep him out of prison.
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