DeSantis sets rivalry aside: ‘Why so zealous in pursuing Trump?’

He’s only been a presidential candidate for two weeks, but Ron DeSantis is already finding himself defending his chief rival.

Several hours after news broke that former President Donald Trump was indicted over his handling of classified documents, DeSantis lambasted the Department of Justice.

“The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society. We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation. Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?” DeSantis tweeted about two hours after the news. “The DeSantis administration will bring accountability to the DOJ, excise political bias and end weaponization once and for all.”

It was a remarkable statement from the second-place GOP candidate, who is considered the most viable alternative to Trump but has grappled with how to challenge the ex-president without alienating his most fervent supporters.

And it showed in clear terms the limits of how much DeSantis will take Trump on. While he eagerly highlights their differences over handling Covid-19 and takes constant, oft-veiled jabs at Trump’s electability, DeSantis is making a calculated effort not to anger the political base that appears to grow emboldened in its support of Trump with each passing legal trouble.

Trump said Thursday that he was being charged in connection to his handling of classified documents – a move that comes 10 months after federal agents searched his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach and took back records that were kept there. Trump said he has been summoned to federal court in Miami next Tuesday.

DeSantis was previously sharply critical of the FBI search of Mar-A-Lago. At the time DeSantis called it a “weaponization of federal agencies.” Right after he jumped into the race for president, DeSantis said he would be “aggressive” in issuing pardons when he was asked whether he would pardon Trump or those who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Many Florida Republicans reacted similarly to DeSantis, with some suggesting without proof that the timing of the indictment was designed to take away attention from allegations that President Joe Biden was involved in a bribery scheme while he was vice president. Biden called the allegations — which are mentioned in an unverified document that was shown to lawmakers on Thursday — “malarkey.”

“We have completely lost trust in the DOJ,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said on social media. “The DOJ needs to come out tonight & explain how this is somehow different than what Hillary (Clinton) did. What Biden did. And this all happens on the same day Biden’s $5M bribe comes out. This is America & this sure looks like a Banana Republic.”

Republican Party of Florida chair Christian Ziegler in a text message echoed Scott.

“I am looking forward to the investigation and indictment of Joe Biden over the classified documents found in Joe Biden’s garage and the $5 million payment to Joe Biden from a foreign national … Just kidding,” Ziegler said in a text message. “We do not have an equal application of the justice system in America.”

At least 12 of Florida’s 20 Florida Republicans in the U.S. House have endorsed Trump for another term in office while DeSantis has only picked up the endorsement of Rep. Laurel Lee. Florida's two senators have not endorsed in the race.

“There is no limit to what these people will do to protect their power & destroy those who threaten it, even if it means ripping our country apart & shredding public faith in the institutions that hold our republic together,” Sen. Marco Rubio wrote on Twitter.