Former Vice President Mike Pence called the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into former President Donald Trump a “politically charged prosecution.”

In an interview with ABC News’s Jonathan Karl broadcast on “This Week” Sunday, Pence blasted Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for prioritizing prosecuting Trump over the crime epidemic in New York City. Pence’s comments come after Trump said he expected to be indicted and arrested on Tuesday in connection with alleged hush money payments made to two women, including former porn star Stormy Daniels.

“I’m taken aback at the idea of indicting a former president of the United States, at a time when there’s a crime wave in New York City,” Pence said. “The fact that the Manhattan DA thinks that indicting President Trump is his top priority, I think just tells you everything you need to know about the radical left in this country… It just feels like a politically charged prosecution here. And I, for my part, I just feel like it’s just not what the American people want to see.”

Pence also responded to Trump’s calls for his supporters to protest, saying that the American people have the right, but they must do so peacefully.

“The frustration the American people feel about what they sense is a two-tiered justice system in this country, I think, is well-founded,” Pence said. “But– I believe that people understand that if they give voice to this, if this occurs on Tuesday, that they need to do so peacefully and in a lawful manner, that the violence that occurred on January 6, the violence that occurred in cities throughout this country in the summer of 2020 was a disgrace.”

“The American people won’t tolerate it and those that engage in that kind of violence should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he continued.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Vice Pres. Mike Pence tells @JonKarl that a possible arrest of former Pres. Donald Trump would be “a politically charged prosecution.”

“And I, for my part, I just feel like it’s just not what the American people want to see.” https://t.co/jXLkYTiWjz pic.twitter.com/aapbdXt9vF

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 18, 2023

According to a recent report from NBC News, law enforcement officials are preparing for Trump to be criminally indicted. Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen admitted he made the payments, but the investigation stems from how Cohen was reimbursed. The money was listed as legal fees, but it was not related to any legal expenses from Cohen.

The payment can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor criminal charge of falsifying business records. According to the New York Times, prosecutors can elevate the misdemeanor to a felony if they can prove that Trump’s “‘intent to defraud’ included an intent to commit or conceal a second crime.” Cohen said the payments were for the “principal purpose of influencing” the 2016 election.

Trump blasted the NBC News report and called for his supporters to protest his potential arrest.

“ILLEGAL LEAKS FROM A CORRUPT & HIGHLY POLITICAL MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE, WHICH HAS ALLOWED NEW RECORDS TO BE SET IN VIOLENT CRIME & WHOSE LEADER IS FUNDED BY GEORGE SOROS, INDICATE THAT, WITH NO CRIME BEING ABLE TO BE PROVEN, & BASED ON AN OLD & FULLY DEBUNKED (BY NUMEROUS OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRYTALE, THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”

Manhattan District Attorney Attorney Alvin Bragg reportedly offered a private response on Saturday to remarks made by former President Donald Trump, who urged supporters to protest after claiming that he would be arrested on Tuesday.

Trump’s remarks come after a report from NBC News said federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies were analyzing security assessments and making plans to prepare for the possibility that Trump could be indicted next week, although no date is given in the report. A spokesperson for Trump later said that Trump has been given “no notification” that there will be an arrest next week.

“PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” Trump wrote at the end of one social media post, while adding in another: “WE JUST CAN’T ALLOW THIS ANYMORE. THEY’RE KILLING OUR NATION AS WE SIT BACK & WATCH. WE MUST SAVE AMERICA! PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!”

Bragg, who has been accused of leading a politically-motivated case against the former president, reportedly wrote in an email to employees that was obtained by POLITICO: “I’m sure you have seen the ongoing press attention and public comments surrounding an ongoing investigation by this office.”

“Please know that your safety is our top priority,” Bragg continued. “We have full confidence in our outstanding security staff and investigators, along with our great OCA and NYPD colleagues, and will continue to coordinate with all of them. We do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York. Our law enforcement partners will ensure that any specific or credible threats against the office will be fully investigated and that the proper safeguards are in so all 1,600 of us have a secure work environment.”

“This office is full of the finest public servants in the country. I am committed to maintaining a safe work environment where everyone is able to continue to serve the public with the same diligence and professionalism that make this institution so renowned,” Bragg concluded. “In the meantime, as with all of our investigations, we will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly, and speak publicly only when appropriate.”

The case involves an alleged payment that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen admits he made to Daniels during the presidential race to keep quiet about an alleged 2006 tryst between Trump and Daniels. Cohen pleaded guilty to related charges and served time in prison.

Although non-disclosure agreements are legal, the potential problem for Trump centers around how his company reimbursed Cohen. The payment was listed as a legal expense and the company cited a retainer agreement with Cohen. The retainer agreement did not exist and the reimbursement was not related to any legal services from Cohen, thus setting up a potential misdemeanor criminal charge of falsifying business records. The report said that Trump personally signed several of the checks to Cohen while he was serving as president.

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Prosecutors can elevate the misdemeanor to a felony if they can prove that Trump’s “‘intent to defraud’ included an intent to commit or conceal a second crime.”

Prosecutors argue that the second crime is that the alleged $130,000 hush payment was an improper donation to the Trump campaign because the money was used to stop a story for the purpose of benefiting his presidential campaign.