Former US President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on his fellow Republicans in Congress to slash funding for the US Justice Department and the FBI, one day after pleading not guilty in New York to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
In a post on his social media platform, Trump took aim at federal law enforcement authorities even though the criminal charges against him were pursued by the Manhattan district attorney.
"REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS SHOULD DEFUND THE DOJ AND FBI UNTIL THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES," Trump wrote, according to Reuters.
Trump's proposal would be a sharp turn for Republicans, who in the past have supported robust funding for law enforcement and have criticized proposals from some on the left in recent years to "defund" local police departments.
His call comes a day after his arraignment in Manhattan on charges related to hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Speaking to supporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort later on Tuesday, Trump said, "I never thought anything like this could happen in America. The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told reporters after Tuesday’s arraignment that Trump "repeatedly made false statements" on New York business records and made others do the same.
"These are felony crimes in New York state, no matter who you are," Bragg said. "We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct."
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Passover in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)