Lawmakers loyal to Donald Trump have released statements defending the former president and attacking the Department of Justice after the news of the grand jury indictment broke Tuesday.
Here’s what they are saying:
Sen. Ted Budd called for President Joe Biden’s administration to be “held accountable” after Trump was indicted in the federal investigation into 2020 election interference and the January 6 insurrection. “Again and again, the Biden administration has weaponized the justice system to target his chief political opponent,” Budd posted to Twitter.
Sen. Eric Schmitt tweeted: “They know they can’t beat Trump given Biden’s disastrous failures and scandals so Biden’s DOJ has created a two tiered system of justice targeting his chief political opponent.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn posted: “The news of another indictment against President Trump is no shock ahead of 2024. The Left knows they can’t beat Trump amid Biden’s failures, so they’re trying to take him out with criminal charges. Biden’s abusing two tiers of justice to target his greatest political opponent.”
Sen. J.D. Vance said in a statement, “Joe Biden is indicting Donald Trump (again) because he’s losing in this presidential race. He would rather throw Donald Trump in prison than face him at the ballot box … Luckily, the American people get a say, and when they reelect Donald Trump, it will be time to clean house at the Department of Justice.”
Sen. Josh Hawley tweeted: “Biden DOJ unveils the latest effort to stop Trump from running against Biden – totally unprecedented in American history,” and Senator Rick Scott posted, “It seems like every time we learn more about Biden’s shady business dealings, his DOJ indicts President Trump.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik, a member of GOP leadership, called today a “dark day in America” and claimed Trump was within his rights to “correctly raise concerns” about the election in 2020, though there’s been no evidence of any widespread fraud. “Today’s sham indictment of Donald Trump is yet another desperate attempt to distract attention away from the mounting evidence of Joe Biden’s direct involvement in his family’s illegal influence peddling scheme – one of the greatest political corruption scandals in history.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene vowed to vote for Trump even if he is behind bars, a pretty remarkable statement that encapsulates the reality inside the GOP right now: that their nominee for president could be a convicted felon.
Rep. Jim Jordan, House Judiciary Committee chair, tweeted: “When you drain The Swamp, the Swamp fights back. President Trump did nothing wrong!”
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers said that the indictment shows the strength of the justice system.
Sen. Dick Blumenthal, a Democratic member of the Senate Judiciary Committee: “No person is above the law — and violations should be pursued no matter how powerful the person is.”
Rep. Dan Goldman said that individuals “must be held accountable” for their role on Jan. 6, 2021. “ If Donald Trump believes that the legal or factual basis for these charges is unfounded, he can make that argument to a judge, who decides the law, or a jury, which decides the facts. But this case should be litigated in the court of law, not the court of public opinion and most definitely not the halls of Congress.”
