Elon Musk was derided on Twitter after he said there is \u201cfar higher\u201d 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\u2019s indictment \u201cdifferential enforcement\u201d, suggesting he was unfairly targeted by law enforcement based on political biases.
\u201cThere does seem to be far higher interest in pursuing Trump compared to other people in politics,\u201d Mr Musk said, reacting to a tweet by a pro-Trump user.
\u201cVery important that the justice system rebut what appears to be differential enforcement or they will lose public trust.\u201d
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\u2019s 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\u2019s platform commented sarcastically on his support for the twice impeached former president.
\u201cCould it be that they have evidence Trump committed crimes? It\u2019s not a real endearing defense to cry out loud \u2018what about\u2019 my political adversaries?\u201d a user Marc said.
\u201cIsn\u2019t the rebuttal commonly known as a trial?\u201d asked another user sarcastically.
\u201cDifferential Treatment? Like when poor people get higher\/worse sentences because they can\u2019t afford representation?\u201d another user asked. Twitter adviser and close associate of Mr Musk, David Sacks, also weighed in over Mr Trump\u2019s indictment.
He referred to allegations by officials that Joe Biden kept government documents in the garage of his Delaware home.
\u201cTrump has been indicted for keeping documents in his basement. Makes sense. Everyone knows you\u2019re supposed to keep them in your Corvette,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n