Donald Trump faces legal jeopardy about payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, but his Republican opponents face political jeopardy about how to handle the issue. Ron DeSantis’s powerful response shows why he’s such a formidable candidate and why Trump fears him.
Most Republicans have opted for the easy answer to the hush-money story: criticise Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg for pushing a politically driven agenda. That agenda centres on snagging the former president on a minor, long-forgotten misdemeanour and converting it into a larger, more serious crime. Bragg apparently hopes to use a novel legal theory to upgrade the minor charge to a felony. Since the case would be tried before a Manhattan jury that loathes Trump, that legal legerdemain might work.
DeSantis thinks he can capture at least some Trump supporters, but only if he embodies the qualities they yearn for
No neutral observer thinks the DA would prosecute anyone else for the same offence, much less try to amplify the legal peril.
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