A bevy of Republican lawmakers responded to the news of former President Donald Trump’s indictment, largely offering support for the former party leader following news that he is the first former president to be indicted after leaving office.
Republicans and Trump have characterized the prosecution by the Manhattan district attorney’s office as a partisan witch hunt.
A grand jury in New York decided on March 30 to indict Trump over his alleged role in the payment of hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels only weeks before the 2016 presidential election. The charges, which remain sealed, are expected to relate to the falsification of business records in connection with the payment, which was made by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
Cohen claims that he was directed to make the payment by Trump and was later reimbursed by the Trump organization under routine legal expenses. Trump has denied all wrongdoing in the matter.
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) described the indictment as a “dark day for America.”
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Twitter called the indictment a “sham” and “one of the clearest examples of extremist Democrats weaponizing government to attack their political opponents.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a longtime Trump ally, said the former president “is innocent and the only one standing in the way of these modern day tyrants, just like our founding fathers did, to protect each of us from evil.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said the indictment was not about the law, but “raw power.”
“It’s the Democrat Party telling the nation they will stop at nothing to control the outcome of the next presidential election. It is an assault on our democracy, pure and simple,” Hawyley wrote on Twitter.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a former attorney, described the “substance” of the legal case against Trump as “utter garbage.”
“This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system,” Cruz said on Twitter.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) saw the indictment as another example of “two tiers of justice at work.”
“It is a gross abuse of power by a blue state government to fabricate the outcome they’ve wanted since 2015. The left has thrown the rule of law out the window at the expense of American democracy. It’s unprecedented, unnerving, and unacceptable,” Blackburn said in a statement.
Bragg’s office said on March 30 that it is coordinating with Trump’s attorneys on his surrender to the district attorney’s office, and that a date for the arraignment, when Trump will be handed the indictment document, has not been set.
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