The lead congressional correspondent for CNN, Manu Raju, spoke with numerous Republican members of Congress in Orlando, Florida, where they were holding a retreat, and probed them about the possible charges against the ex-president.
Raju told CNN's Brianna Keilar that with their new majority, Republicans in the House would target Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg for prosecuting Trump. He then played two tapes of himself conducting interviews with Jordan and Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX).
When asked, "And then what happened?" This was a rhetorical question from Jordan. "And just like that, President Trump has declared his candidacy for reelection. here they are - we're going to find an accounting mistake from 2007." The House Judiciary Chairman rejected the potential allegations as "a misdemeanor" and stated that "it makes absolutely no sense" for the former president to be charged.
Jordan responded to Raju's observation that he was "going on what you guys have informed us," i.e. what had been reported, when asked whether he was aware of any potential charges that could be brought against Trump.
Raju said that we were "rushing to conclusions" here. It's possible that Trump "violated the law. Will that bother you? Jordan affirmed that they do not believe that President Trump has broken the law. McCaul's perspective was consistent with what he heard from Raju.
"It's a misdemeanor," the Texas representative who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee stated. It's hardly the crime of the century, but it's not the worst thing that's ever happened, either. So, yeah, this thing is going to have — it's going to have a political taint to it, you know, whichever way you spin it.
Raju followed up with a question regarding his anxiety level in light of the allegations of "possibly altering corporate records to cover up a hush money payment." McCaul responded with an affirmative. That would worry me if there was a crime committed. In my opinion, the law should be followed. That must be strictly enforced.
