Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador appeared to side with for former President Donald Trump amid his ongoing legal battle with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, slamming the potential indictment as a way to prevent Trump from seeking the White House in 2024.
“Right now, former President Trump is declaring that they are going to arrest him,” López Obrador said Tuesday during a press conference, according to transcribed remarks from Newsweek. “If that were the case… it would be so that his name doesn’t appear on the ballot.”
The comments from López Obrador, who often disagrees with Trump and has served as president of Mexico since 2018, come as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg weighs whether to bring charges against Trump amid the leading Republican’s third run for president.
An indictment, if handed down from a grand jury, could come as early as Wednesday, a source told Fox News. The earliest Trump could appear in court if charged would be next week. If indicted, the U. S. Secret Service and the New York Police Department would discuss how the former president would surrender.
Insisting that the supposed charges against Trump are a “fabrication,” López Obrador said that he has also been at the center of attempts to prevent him from obtaining political office.
“I say this because I too have suffered from the fabrication of a crime, when they didn’t want me to run,” López Obrador said from the press conference. “And this is completely anti-democratic…. Why not allow the people to decide?”
Trump said Tuesday evening that he had not been formally notified about plans to bring charges against him, sources familiar told Fox News Digital, amid speculation of a possible imminent indictment.
Sources told Fox News, however, that there remains a real chance that Bragg may choose not to indict the former president.
If an indictment is brought, Trump’s attorneys would immediately be notified. If indicted and notified, Trump’s attorneys would be able to begin negotiating the terms of a court appearance with the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
NEW! Angry at US criticism of human rights in Mexico, AMLO comes out in defense of Trump, assuring that his arrest would be a move to prevent him from running for President in 2024. pic.twitter.com/QMjZ8HJN3S
— José Díaz Briseño (@diazbriseno) March 21, 2023
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