Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy had a feisty exchange Tuesday with a reporter who questioned him about a potential indictment of former President Donald Trump.

A reporter at the Congressional Institute panel on which the speaker appeared could be heard noting to McCarthy that Republicans have spoken out in support of Trump after the former president claimed he would soon be indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The reporter went on to ask whether Republicans were allowing Trump’s legal troubles to distract the party from issues that might help the GOP win back “suburban voters” after the disappointing 2022 midterms.

“Ok, I hear your question, I don’t agree with your question. So it’s not here that we’re coming to defend President Trump, what we’re coming to defend is equal justice in America, and I think every American believes in that,” McCarthy said. “I’ve watched CNN last night, a person that is never going to vote for me, with the exact same position. So, I don’t know if you’d phrase the question to him the same way you would to me, because we both come to the same answer: that what we see before us is not equal justice.” (RELATED: McCarthy Says Americans Should Not Protest If Trump Is Indicted)

“What we see before us is a political game being played by a … borough DA. So, understand the question you are raising [and] the person you’re defending,” McCarthy continued. “Do you want to defend a borough DA who’s taking up a case of a person who is a nominee for president, don’t talk about party or the name, who others have already looked at and says it doesn’t work, who’s more than seven years beyond the status of the time? I think if you really thought that way and looked at all those facts, you probably wouldn’t ask me that question, and not in the same way, or even ask it.”

Trump announced Saturday that he would be arrested Tuesday in relation to an investigation for alleged payouts to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels. Authorities allege that Trump falsified business records to reimburse his former lawyer Michael Cohen for allegedly paying hush money to Daniels.