Missouri’s state attorney general is investigating gender-affirming care provided by Planned Parenthood, according to a lawsuit filed Friday by the St. Louis health provider.

Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey demanded documents from Planned Parenthood after finding out that the clinic provides ‘life-altering gender transition drugs to children with any therapy assessment,’ spokeswoman Madeline Sieren said in a statement. She described that as a departure from standard care.

Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri sued in response, trying to block access to its records. In court filings, the healthcare provider argued Bailey has no authority to investigate the clinic, which is inspected by the state health department.

A Planned Parenthood doctor described Bailey’s investigation as a ‘fishing expedition’ targeting the clinic, which provides gender-affirming care to adults, and teens ages 16 and older. Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the health center’s chief medical officer, told The Associated Press that the attorney general’s investigation is ‘an attempt to help him work outside of the legislative process and eliminate access to transgender care for Missourians.’

The Attorney General’s Office cited its ongoing investigation into a transgender youth clinic run by Washington University, ‘or others in the state providing similar services,’ as the reason for the document request, according to a letter to Planned Parenthood dated March 10.

Sieren criticized Planned Parenthood for withholding its records.

‘We look forward to prevailing in this request for information and learning what is truly going on with Planned Parenthood in connection with gender transition issues,’ Sieren said in a Friday statement.

In February, Bailey launched an investigation into the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital following allegations of mistreatment by a former employee. The ex-staffer alleged that physicians there did not warn patients and parents enough about potential side effects of puberty blockers and hormones, and that doctors pressured parents to consent to treatment.

Planned Parenthood argues in its lawsuit that its clinic has nothing to do with the Washington University center.

The lawsuit comes amid a national push to restrict transgender health care, drag shows, bathroom access and how LGBTQ+ topics are discussed in schools. The lawsuit was filed Friday as rallies were scheduled in cities nationwide as part of Transgender Day of Visibility.

As the state’s top prosecutor, Bailey is following his predecessor’s lead in using the office to take a stand on social issues. Last week, he announced plans to file an emergency rule to restrict healthcare for transgender children. It would require an 18-month waiting period, 15 therapy sessions and additional mental health treatment before Missouri doctors can provide gender-affirming care to minors.

‘I am dedicated to using every legal tool at my disposal to stand in the gap and protect children from being subject to inhumane science experiments,’ Bailey said in a statement announcing the planned rule.

His office has not yet filed the rule.

Transgender medical treatment for children has been available in the U.S. for over a decade and is endorsed by major medical associations. Many clinics use treatment plans pioneered in Amsterdam 30 years ago, according to a recent review in the British Psych Bulletin. Since 2005, the number of youth referred to gender clinics has increased as much as tenfold in the U.S., U.K, Canada and Finland, the review said.

McNicholas, of Planned Parenthood, said Bailey is using the ‘same playbook’ that anti-abortion activists and elected officials have used to restrict abortions.

Missouri banned almost all abortions in 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Before that, Republicans fought for years to regulate abortion out of existence in the state. The GOP-led state legislature proposed anti-abortion bills yearly. When increasingly restrictive bans on the procedure were tossed in court, Republican governors stepped in.

‘If we are to learn anything from our past experience with the state targeting us for the provision of lawful abortion care, we know that other folks who are providing this care are certainly going to be targets,’ McNicholas said. ‘If not now, then soon.’

Former Attorney General Bill Barr reacted to the indictment of former President Trump over his alleged 2016 hush money scandal on Friday, calling it ‘an abomination.’

Trump was indicted by a grand jury on Thursday. He is the first ex-president in U.S. history to be indicted.

Barr appeared on Fox Business to discuss the indictment with host Larry Kudlow.

‘Obviously, we don’t have the indictment, so there’s a little bit of speculation involved,’ Barr began. ‘But based on the news reports, if they’re accurate, this is an abomination.’

‘It’s the epitome of the abuse of prosecutorial power to bring a case that would not be brought against anyone else. They are going after the man, not a crime. And the legal theory, frankly, is pathetically weak,’ he argued.

‘They are going after the man, not a crime. And the legal theory, frankly, is pathetically weak.’

— Former Attorney General Bill Barr

The former attorney general delved into the legal arguments that will likely be made by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

‘The claim is that [recording the Cohen reimbursements as legal payments] is false and therefore violated a misdemeanor statute in the first instance against false documents,’ Barr said. ‘I actually don’t think that’s a valid claim in this case, because the statute actually requires that it be done with the intent to defraud.’

‘They’re assuming that the payments were a campaign finance violation because they were effectively a contribution to the Trump campaign. I can tell you that’s not the law. I don’t think that’s how the Justice Department would view it,’ Barr added.

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating the alleged hush money scandal for years. The purported payments include the $130,000 sum given to Stormy Daniels, plus the $150,000 given to former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

President Biden declined to comment on the indictment when asked about it on Friday.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Former President Trump is expected to travel from Florida to New York next week, as he faces an indictment for his alleged 2016 hush money scandal.

The former president plans to depart Mar-a-Lago for New York City Monday and will stay at Trump Tower that night.

Trump’s courthouse appearance is expected to happen early Tuesday morning. Previous reports said that he is expected to be arraigned at 2:15 p.m. before Judge Juan Merchan.

The Secret Service will ensure that Trump is safely brought in. The Secret Service is working with the New York Police Department, FBI, New York State court officers and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to finalize the security and logistics of Trump’s arraignment and booking.

The former president will return directly to Mar-a-Lago after the arraignment.  A source told Fox News Digital that Trump will not be arrested in handcuffs, having made an arrangement with the DA’s office.

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating the alleged hush money scandal for five years. The purported payments include the $130,000 sum given to Stormy Daniels, plus the $150,000 given to former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Hush money is not illegal, but prosecutors are expected to argue that the payments were improper donations to the Trump campaign, as they helped his candidacy.

Trump has slammed the indictment, calling it a witch-hunt.

‘This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,’ Trump said in a statement. ‘From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats- the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country- have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement.’

Fox News’ Marta Dhanis and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

The indictment of former President Donald Trump will likely have little impact on the high stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court race to be decided next week, as Democrats try to flip majority control of the court with the fate of abortion access in the state on the line, those closely watching the contest said Friday.

Trump has not been directly involved in the race, did not endorse anyone, and the Republican-backed candidate has tried to distance his connections with the former president and the GOP. Additionally, Trump’s support among Republicans appears to be waning in the battleground state that he barely won in 2016 and then lost by a similar margin in 2020.

‘While this (indictment) may get the juice flowing with some of his supporters, some may have a head shake and shoulder shrug,’ said longtime Republican strategist and former state GOP party leader Brandon Scholz. ‘This indictment thing isn’t really tied into this race. It is a Trump issue.’

Charles Franklin, a pollster for the Marquette University Law School, said the indictment could spur a bump in turnout both among Trump’s most ardent supporters and his most fervent Democratic opponents. But he didn’t think it would fundamentally alter the dynamics of the Supreme Court race between Republican-backed Dan Kelly and Democratic-backed Janet Protasiewicz to be decided Tuesday.

‘The classic October surprises are things that involve the candidates themselves, not someone else,’ Franklin said. ‘For that reason, I think there’s probably less reason to think this news dramatically changes the Supreme Court race because people would have to know enough to connect Donald Trump to the Supreme Court race and have not been planning to vote, or vote differently, in Tuesday’s election.’

Protasiewicz’s campaign spokesperson, Sam Roecker, said Friday, ‘We don’t expect voters to be distracted by what’s happening in New York.’

‘We’re focused on winning a critical election in four days that will have long-term consequences for millions of Wisconsinites when it comes to issues like reproductive rights and the strength of our democracy,’ he said. ‘We know voters are focused on this race because it’s an opportunity to return fairness and impartiality to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.’

Kelly told reporters after a campaign stop Friday in Watertown that he had ‘no idea’ whether the indictment would motivate people to vote in his race.

Supporters of Kelly, who previously served on the state Supreme Court, are hoping the indictment will fire up the GOP base like the raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home the day before Wisconsin’s August GOP gubernatorial primary did.

Although Trump endorsed Kelly in his run for the court in 2020, Kelly did not seek a Trump endorsement this time and wouldn’t even commit to accepting one if it had been offered.

Kelly worked for the Wisconsin Republican Party and the Republican National Committee after he lost the 2020 election. He also advised the state’s top Republicans on their scheme after Trump’s loss in 2020 to have fake electors cast Wisconsin’s electoral voters for him.

‘I am running against probably one of the most extreme partisan characters in the history of this state.’ Protasiewicz said during their only debate in March.

‘Again, this is you being quick to lie,’ Kelly responded.

Kelly insisted throughout the campaign that his personal politics are irrelevant and emphasized that he’s dedicated to the ‘rule of law.’

The indictment Thursday came after 10 days of early voting across the state. As of Friday morning, nearly 353,00 absentee ballots had been returned. Early voting ends Sunday.

‘In the last days before an election, things have been set in motion for a long time,’ said Franklin, the pollster. ‘People have already been making up their minds whether to vote or not and, if so, who to support. In that sense, these late-breaking things don’t shift support tremendously, particularly when they don’t involve the candidates.’

The winner Tuesday will determine majority control of the court, which is expected to rule on the fate of Wisconsin’s near-total abortion ban, Republican gerrymandered legislative districts and voting rights heading into the 2024 presidential election. The court came within one vote of overturning President Joe Biden’s win in the state in 2020.

Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee County circuit judge, has tried to make the race a de-facto referendum on abortion, while also blasting Kelly for his ties to Republicans and his work for Wisconsin Right to Life.

Abortion rights groups, including Planned Parenthood, are behind Protasiewicz. The Wisconsin Democratic Party has given her campaign nearly $9 million, helping her to get an advantage over Kelly in television advertising.

Kelly’s backers include the state and local GOP chapters as well as GOP mega-donors Richard Uihlein and Diane Hendricks.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a nearly $13.5 billion state transportation budget Friday, touting new rail safety measures that were included in response to the February train derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine.

The measure primarily funds bridges and highway projects over the next two years. It cleared the GOP-dominated Legislature with bipartisan support. It also lowers registration fees for plug-in hybrid vehicles, and raises the threshold for the amount of money a local government can spend on projects such as bridge repairs by its own public workforce before it must bid them out to private contractors.

The railway safety measures would mandate a two-person crew for freight trains and require that the wayside detectors used to help spot problems be installed in shorter intervals of 10 to 15 miles apart, with oversight from the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, among other provisions. Currently, the Federal Railroad Administration allows some wayside detectors to be spaced up to 25 miles apart.

The PUCO also would have to examine different kinds of railway detectors and cameras that are in use and submit its findings to the General Assembly.

‘We are ensuring that Ohio’s railroads follow the best practices in monitoring the railroad equipment and holding them responsible for their actions,’ DeWine said.

Whether the state has the right to impose these provisions remains a point of debate. The Ohio Railroad Association, a trade group, argued that several of the measures are preempted by federal law. State lawmakers say the General Assembly can put statewide safeguards in place to help protect constituents.

DeWine said enacting those provisions puts Ohio on record as taking a firm stance on rail safety concerns the East Palestine derailment brought into focus. He said he hopes the federal government will also take steps to strengthen rail safety.

Congress is considering safety proposals that would require freight train crews to continue to have two people, require more hot bearing detectors to be installed, and ensure railroads notify states about the hazardous materials they are transporting, among other changes.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday after being treated for depression.

A press release from Fetterman’s office says that he is in remission after his treatment for depression, and is in Braddock, Pennsylvania.

‘I am so happy to be home. I’m excited to be the father and husband I want to be, and the senator Pennsylvania deserves. Pennsylvanians have always had my back, and I will always have theirs,’ Fetterman said. 

‘I am extremely grateful to the incredible team at Walter Reed. The care they provided changed my life. I will have more to say about this soon, but for now I want everyone to know that depression is treatable, and treatment works. This isn’t about politics — right now there are people who are suffering with depression in red counties and blue counties. If you need help, please get help.’

Fetterman suffered a stroke in May of last year during his successful bid to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate. Fetterman experienced side effects that included ‘auditory processing disorder’ but his campaign and doctors insisted he has ‘no work restrictions’ and ‘can work full duty in public office.’

Fetterman squared off in only one debate with his opponent, Republican Mehmet Oz, on October 25th and struggled to effectively communicate on multiple occasions and used closed captioning due to limited auditory processing capability.  

After defeating Oz by five percent, Fetterman began his six-year Senate term in January but his office announced just a month later that he had checked himself into a hospital for treatment of severe depression.

‘Last night, Senator John Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to receive treatment for clinical depression. While John has experienced depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks,’ Adam Jentleson, Fetterman’s chief of staff, said in a statement at the time.

Before he checked into Walter Reed, staffers said Fetterman had not been his usual self for weeks and described him as withdrawn, showing disinterest in talking, eating and the usual banter with aides.

Fetterman is said to be receiving daily in-person briefings from Jentleson and his office is issuing statements and sponsoring legislation while in the hospital.

Fetterman has missed 53 of the 64 Senate roll call votes during February and March as a result of being hospitalized.

Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said his state ‘will not assist’ in any extradition request by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg amid what he called ‘questionable circumstances’ while slamming the charges against former President Donald Trump as ‘un-American’ and as a ‘weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda.’ 

The former president and 2024 Republican presidential candidate was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday after a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

‘The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head,’ DeSantis tweeted Thursday. ‘It is un-American.’ 

‘The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct,’ he continued. ‘Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.’ 

DeSantis added: ‘Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda.’ 

Trump’s primary residence is his property at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. 

Trump was indicted as part of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s years-long investigation, possibly for hush money payments. 

Bragg has been investigating Trump for hush money payments made leading up to the 2016 presidential election. 

These include the $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Hush money payments made to both McDougal and Daniels were revealed and reported by Fox News in 2018. Those payments had been investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). 

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Daniels payment in 2019, even as former Trump attorney Michael Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal. The FEC also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted as part of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s years-long investigation, possibly for hush money payments. 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating Trump for hush money payments made leading up to the 2016 presidential election. 

These include the $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Hush money payments made to both McDougal and Daniels were revealed and reported by Fox News in 2018. Those payments had been investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission. 

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Stormy Daniels payment in 2019, even as Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

‘This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.’s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal,’ a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in a statement Thursday. ‘Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.’

Trump reacted to his indictment, slamming Bragg for his ‘obsession’ with trying to ‘get Trump,’ while warning the move to charge a former president of the United States will ‘backfire.’

‘This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,’ Trump said in a statement. ‘From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats- the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country- have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement.’

‘The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable—indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference,’ he said. ‘Never before in our Nation’s history has this been done.’ 

Trump said Democrats are guilty of ‘weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent.’ 

Trump attorney Alina Habba said Trump ‘is a victim of a corrupt and distorted version of the American justice system and history.’

‘He will be vindicated,’ she said. 

Bragg, when he took over as district attorney in January 2022, stopped pursuing charges against Trump and suspended the investigation ‘indefinitely,’ according to one of the top prosecutors who resigned from the office in protest. 

Prosecutors Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne, who had been leading the investigation under former DA Cyrus Vance, submitted their resignations after Bragg began raising doubts about pursuing a case against Trump.

Trump, earlier this month, cited reports, which were based on what he called ‘illegal leaks,’ that suggested he could be arrested on Tuesday, March 21. Trump posted about those reports on his TRUTH Social, leading the House Judiciary Committee to intervene, demanding Bragg testify before the panel. 

Republican lawmakers and allies of Trump blasted the investigation as a political prosecution and a ‘weaponization’ of the office of the district attorney. 

Bragg, last week, claimed that Trump ‘created a false expectation’ that his arrest was imminent, citing the former president’s TRUTH Social post, and slammed the committee for making an ‘unprecedented inquiry into a pending local prosecution.’

‘The Letter only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene,’ Bragg wrote in a letter to the committee. ‘Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry.’

Last week, Robert Costello, a former legal advisor to Michael Cohen, testified before the grand jury last Monday that Cohen was a ‘serial liar,’ and testified that Trump did not know about the payments made by Cohen to Daniels.

Bragg then canceled grand jury proceedings related to the Trump probe on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Sources, at the time, told Fox News Digital that there was ‘major dissension’ within the district attorney’s office. One source claimed the district attorney is having trouble convincing the grand jury on potential charges due to the ‘weakness’ of the case.

Cohen, in 2018, was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges, including tax evasion, lying to Congress, and campaign finance violations. Cohen pleaded guilty to arranging payments to Daniels and McDougal to prevent them from going public with alleged affairs with Trump, which Trump has repeatedly denied. 

Cohen has said Trump directed the payments—which the former president has denied for years. 

Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 through his own company and was later reimbursed by Trump’s company, which logged the payments as ‘legal expenses.’ McDougal received $150,000 through the publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer.

The Trump Organization ‘grossed up’ Cohen’s reimbursement for Daniels’ payment for ‘tax purposes,’ according to federal prosecutors who filed the 2018 criminal charges against Cohen for the payments. 

Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing with regard to the payments made to Daniels and McDougal, and has repeatedly said the payments were ‘not a campaign violation,’ but rather a ‘simple private transaction.’ 

The payments to Daniels were first revealed in January 2018 in a Wall Street Journal report that said Cohen and Daniels’ lawyer negotiated a nondisclosure agreement to prevent her from publicly discussing the supposed sexual encounter with Trump.

At the time, though, Cohen, Trump, and even Stormy Daniels denied the arrangement.

In January 2018, Cohen said the alleged encounter between Daniels and Trump was a rumor that had circulated ‘since 2011.’

And in a letter dated Jan. 10, 2018, obtained and reviewed by Fox News, Daniels also denied the allegations.

‘I recently became aware that certain news outlets are alleging that I had a sexual and/or romantic affair with Donald Trump many, many, many years ago. I am stating with complete clarity that this is absolutely false,’ Daniels wrote. ‘My involvement with Donald Trump was limited to a few public appearances and nothing more.’

Daniels wrote in the letter that when she met Trump, he was ‘gracious, professional and a complete gentleman to me and EVERYONE in my presence.’

‘Rumors that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false,’ the letter read. ‘If indeed I did have a relationship with Donald Trump, trust me, you wouldn’t be reading about it in the news, you would be reading about it in my book. But the fact of the matter is, these stories are not true.’

But in March 2018, Daniels changed her story. During an interview with CBS News’ ’60 Minutes,’ Daniels claimed she had a one-time, unprotected sexual encounter with Trump.

Meanwhile, as for the McDougal payment, David Pecker, the former CEO of American Media Inc., testified before the Manhattan grand jury Monday. It was at least the second time he has appeared before the panel as part of Bragg’s Trump investigation.

American Media Inc. is the parent company and publisher of National Enquirer. The company allegedly bought McDougal’s story from her, in which she claimed a past affair with then-candidate Donald Trump, for $150,000 in September 2016—weeks before the 2016 presidential election.

Federal prosecutors in SDNY decided in 2018 not to bring charges against American Media Inc. for spending $150,000 to buy, then conceal, McDougal’s story.

At the time, American Media Inc., ‘admitted that its principal purpose in making the payment was to suppress the woman’s story so as to prevent it from influencing the election.’

The charges against the former president come after the Federal Election Commission, in 2021, dropped its case on the same issue— examining whether Trump violated election law with the $130,000 payment made to Stormy Daniels, after it ‘failed by a vote of 2-2 to…find reason to believe that Donald J. Trump knowingly and willfully violated’ federal election law.’ 

The investigation into Trump was opened in 2019 by then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. The probe was focused on possible bank, insurance and tax fraud. The case initially involved financial dealings of Trump’s Manhattan properties, including his flagship Fifth Avenue building, Trump Tower, and the valuation of his 213-acre estate Seven Springs in Westchester.

The investigation, last year, led to tax fraud charges against The Trump Organization, and its finance chief Allen Weisselberg.

Weisselberg was accused of collecting more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition.

Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty last year, was sentenced in January to five months in prison and five years of probation. His testimony last year helped convict the Trump Organization of tax fraud. 

Meanwhile, the charges against Trump come amid a separate, special counsel investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago home. 

Last August, the FBI, in an unprecedented move, raided Trump’s private residence at Mar-a-Lago in connection with an investigation into classified records the former president allegedly took with him from the White House.

Attorney General Merrick Garland later appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to take over that investigation, and the Justice Department’s investigation into the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 — specifically whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021.

President Biden is also currently under special counsel investigation for his alleged improper retention of classified records from the Obama administration. Former Vice President Pence also had classified records at his home—a matter under review by the Justice Department. 

The charges against Trump also come while New York Attorney General Letitia James continues her years-long civil investigation into the Trump Organization to find out whether Trump and his company improperly inflated the value of assets on financial statements in order to obtain loans and tax benefits. 

Two of former President Donald Trump’s children immediately took aim at the move by a grand jury in Manhattan to indict him Thursday — slamming ‘third-world prosecutorial misconduct’ and warning Republicans that they are the next targets of a weaponized political apparatus.

‘This is third-world prosecutorial misconduct. It is the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year,’ Eric Trump tweeted. 

Fox News learned Thursday afternoon that Trump has been indicted. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating Trump for hush money payments made leading up to the 2016 presidential election — including a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and a $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal. It makes him the first former president to face criminal charges.

Republicans, including Trump, had dismissed the push for prosecution as politically motivated and had noted that not only is Trump a former president, he is seeking to retake the White House and has already announced a 2024 presidential bid. 

Donald Trump Jr., took aim at Bragg on Rumble in the immediate wake of the news.

‘This corrupt leftist. D.A. is indicting my father on claims that even the federal government has spent six years trying to put him in jail, even though they didn’t want to touch it and yet they go forward,’ he said.

Trump Jr. also called it ‘Communist-level s—.’ 

‘This is stuff that would make Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot blush,’ he said.

Trump Jr. also issued a warning for Republicans who he thinks aren’t taking the issue seriously and didn’t think it would affect them.

‘So let’s be very clear, because there were a couple of Republicans, people who have proven themselves to be RINOs while trying to wear the MAGA cap, let’s be clear for those people who said, ‘It’s not real, Trump’s making it up, It’s not a real issue for us.’ If you don’t think that the weaponization of the entire federal government against their political enemies, against the voters half of the country approximately as we’ve seen… If you don’t think that’s a problem, you don’t even belong in any position in government, let alone president,’ he said.

‘You know, I get you can have your sound bites and you can do your nonsense and pretend you’re doing great and hire your influencers. But if you don’t think that’s an issue, guess what? Just wait till they come for you. Because they will.’

‘We’re in a battle for our existence,’ he added.

Trump Jr. later took to Twitter, arguing, ‘This isn’t just the radical left weaponizing the government to target their political enemies, this is them weaponizing the government to interfere in the 2024 election to stop Trump. The only solution is to shove it down their throats and put him back in the White House!!!’

The indictment comes after weeks of speculation over whether Trump would be indicted. The former president himself had slammed ‘illegal leaks’ that suggested he was going to be arrested earlier this month.

On Thursday, a statement from his attorney said Trump ‘is a victim of a corrupt and distorted version of the American justice system and history. He will be vindicated.’

Fox News’ Brooke Singman, Marta Dhanis and Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump was indicted Thursday by a Manhattan grand jury, following a years-long investigation from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and liberal prosecutor Alvin Bragg. 

News broke Thursday evening that a Manhattan grand jury investigating a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 election campaign voted to indict Trump. Bragg is also investigating the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

Amid the focus on the Trump indictment, Fox News Digital examined some instances where Bragg has been accused of being soft on crime.

The top Manhattan prosecutor came into office as a reform-minded DA, and has repeatedly been accused of letting abusive individuals and murderers off the hook, including when the family of a slain New York man said he betrayed them by not prosecuting a nurse who was charged with fatally stabbing her estranged husband.

‘It is our position that you have prematurely substituted your version of events for the fact-finding functions of the jury and neither honored your promise to the court or to my family to seek even a measure of accountability,’ the brother of slain man James Murray, Steven Murray, wrote to Bragg in December.

James Murray was fatally stabbed by estranged wife Tracy McCarter in 2020, who said she killed her husband in self-defense and that he was an abusive alcoholic. McCarter was championed by domestic violence advocates, according to previous coverage from the New York Post, and Bragg received a donation from advocacy group Color of Change, which advocated for her release, during his run as DA.

He tweeted in support of McCarter’s release in the run-up to his election and ultimately secured his bid to drop murder charges against the woman, which the family of the slain man said was ‘100%’ motivated by the donation from Color of Change.

Similar cases have unfolded since his inauguration, including him getting ridiculed for cutting a sweetheart deal with a career criminal who went on to punch a woman randomly; his slap on the wrist for a man who viciously assaulted a 55-year-old nurse; and jailing, yet ultimately releasing, the bodega owner who killed an aggressive ex-convict who attacked him on murder charges.

In 2022, during Bragg’s first year as Manhattan’s top prosecutor, he downgraded more than half of felony cases to misdemeanors. He campaigned on criminal justice reform and sent a ‘Day One’ memo to staff upon taking office to downgrade certain felonies, such as armed robberies of commercial businesses. The move came at a time when crimes were up 27.6% in New York City, Fox News Digital previously reported.

Bragg declined to prosecute 35% more felony cases than in 2019.

Trump has gone after Bragg for his financial support from liberal billionaire donors George Soros, who donated $1 million to the Color of Change political action committee, which funneled money to Bragg, the New York Post previously reported.

‘​​Bragg is a (Soros) Racist in Reverse, who is taking his orders from D.C. I beat them TWICE, doing much better the second time, and despite their DISINFORMATION campaign, they don’t want to run against ‘TRUMP’ or my GREAT RECORD!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social this month. 

Tom Anderson, the director of the Government Integrity Project at the National Legal and Policy Center in Virginia, previously told the outlet that Soros’ donations are a ‘shock and awe’ political maneuver.

‘George Soros has quietly orchestrated the dark money political equivalent of ‘shock and awe’ on local attorney races through the country, shattering records, flipping races and essentially making a mockery of our entire campaign finance system,’Anderson told the New York Post.

Bragg was elected in 2021 and became the first Black American to lead the powerful office. But since assuming office, he has also been hit with criticisms from other New York leaders, including NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, who said she was ‘very concerned’ with his ‘Day One’ memo.

‘I am making my concerns known to the Manhattan District Attorney and hope to have frank and productive discussions to try and reach more common ground,’ Sewell wrote in a message to officers last year. ‘As police commissioner, your safety is my paramount concern. That is one reason I am seeking to have conversations with the district attorney to seek a better balance between officer safety, public safety and reform.’

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung has previously blasted the investigation into Trump as a ‘witch hunt’ and accused Bragg of being in the pocket of President Joe Biden and ‘radical Democrats.’

‘President Donald J. Trump is completely innocent, he did nothing wrong, and even the biggest, most Radical Left Democrats are making that clear,’ Cheung wrote in a statement.