Florida Officials Reportedly Steeling For A Trump Extradition Block By Gov. Ron DeSantis

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Florida officials are preparing for possible interference by staunch Donald Trump ally Ron DeSantis, the state’s Republican governor, if New York City attempts to extradite the former president, Politico reported Thursday.

Palm Beach County law enforcement officials are “actively” preparing for the possibility that Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. could indict Trump while the former president is living at his Mar-a-Lago resort, two high-ranking county sources told Politico Playbook.

Vance’s office has been investigating whether Trump and his businesses have committed banking and tax fraud. Trump’s tax records were finally turned over to Vance’s office in February after a protracted legal battle over access that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A key concern is that DeSantis could use Florida law to block extradition if charges are filed against Trump. Under state law, DeSantis could intervene and even investigate whether an indicted “person ought to be surrendered” to law enforcement from another state, Politico reports.

The wrinkle is that Trump is about to head to his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, for the summer and has already said his goodbyes to Mar-a-Lago guests.

New Jersey’s extradition law is similar to Florida’s and gives the governor the authority to investigate an extradition demand. But the state administration, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and residents are not expected to be quite so accommodating to Trump. Democrat Joe Biden won the state with 57.3% of the popular vote to Trump’s 41.4%.

Any action by Vance could happen in the next few months. He announced in March that he’s not seeking reelection as district attorney. He’ll leave his position the end of they year and may want to wrap up the Trump investigation and any indictments before then.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.