Elon Musk was derided on Twitter after he said there is “far higher” political interest in pursuing Donald Trump than other politicians after the former president was indicted for the second time.
The Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter tech tycoon on Thursday called Mr Trump’s indictment “differential enforcement”, suggesting he was unfairly targeted by law enforcement based on political biases.
“There does seem to be far higher interest in pursuing Trump compared to other people in politics,” Mr Musk said, reacting to a tweet by a pro-Trump user.
“Very important that the justice system rebut what appears to be differential enforcement or they will lose public trust.”
Mr Musk, who has declared his support to the Republican party, has courted several prominent right-wing figures in politics and media.
Mr Musk also recently oversaw the launch of Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s official 2024 campaign announcement to seek the Republican presidential nomination.
Following his takeover of Twitter last year, he had also reinstated suspended accounts of several controversial figures, including Mr Trump and other Republicans.
Several users on Mr Musk’s platform commented sarcastically on his support for the twice impeached former president.
“Could it be that they have evidence Trump committed crimes? It’s not a real endearing defense to cry out loud ‘what about’ my political adversaries?” a user Marc said.
“Isn’t the rebuttal commonly known as a trial?” asked another user sarcastically.
“Differential Treatment? Like when poor people get higher/worse sentences because they can’t afford representation?” another user asked. Twitter adviser and close associate of Mr Musk, David Sacks, also weighed in over Mr Trump’s indictment.
He referred to allegations by officials that Joe Biden kept government documents in the garage of his Delaware home.
“Trump has been indicted for keeping documents in his basement. Makes sense. Everyone knows you’re supposed to keep them in your Corvette,” Mr Shacks said.
Mr Trump was indicted on charges of retaining classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence and obstruction of justice, according to a lawyer for the former US president.
He is facing seven criminal counts in the federal case, including one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of making false statements and at least one count of unlawful retention of national defence information.
The case by the Justice Department has come as another legal setback for Mr Trump, who seeks a return to the White House in 2024.
This is the second indictment against Mr Trump after he faced charges over a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Mr Trump has claimed innocence in both cases.

independent