Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records set off a political firestorm in Washington on Thursday, with Republicans furiously criticizing the verdict as a miscarriage of justice, while Democrats praised the New York jurors for rendering judgment. fair in one of the most historic trials. in American history.
Republicans, unsurprisingly, rallied around Trump, reiterating their baseless claims that the Biden administration had engaged in political persecution of the former US president.
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“Today is a shameful day in American history,” said Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House. “This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one. Weaponizing our judicial system has been a hallmark of the Biden administration, and today’s decision is further proof that Democrats will stop at nothing to silence dissent and crush their political opponents.”
Congressman Jim Jordan, the embattled right-wing Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, also lamented the verdict as “a travesty of justice,” adding: “Manhattan’s kangaroo court shows what happens when our justice system is weaponized. by partisan prosecutors in front of a biased judge with an unfair process.”
Some Trump advisers and family members were even more blunt in their assessment of the verdict. “What nonsense,” said Donald Trump Jr, the former president’s eldest son. he wrote in X.
Several Trump allies predicted the conviction would be reversed upon appeal and would only rally Republican voters in the election, while at least one lawmaker suggested the verdict would set a dangerous precedent.
“This verdict says more about the system than the allegations. It will be seen as politically motivated and unfair, and it will backfire tremendously on the political left,” said Republican senator and close Trump ally Lindsey Graham. “I fear we have opened Pandora’s box for the presidency itself.”
However, Democrats were more circumspect in their response to the verdict, framing the jurors’ decision as a reflection of the strength of the US judicial system.
“Today in New York, we see that no one is above the law. Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed that he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain,” said Michael Tyler, communications director for the Biden campaign.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Courts Subcommittee, argued that the verdict confirmed that Trump was “unfit to lead the greatest nation in the world.”
“It is only in honest courts that the former president has been unable to lie and intimidate his way out of trouble,” Whitehouse said. “Americans trust juries for good reason.”
Senator Chris Coons, a Democratic member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, added: “I congratulate the jurors for their service and call on all Americans, regardless of party affiliation, to accept and respect the outcome of this trial.”
After calling the verdict a “disgrace,” Trump immediately turned his conviction into a campaign issue, sending a fundraising email to supporters describing himself as a “political prisoner.”
“But with your support at this moment in history, WE WILL TAKE BACK THE WHITE HOUSE AND MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” the email read. “WE MUST MAKE JOE BIDEN REGRET HAVING COME AFTER US!”
The National Republican Senatorial Committee also published a fundraising campaign after the jury delivered its verdict, attacking the trial as a “witch hunt.”
Biden himself declined to comment or react to the verdict on Thursday; Ian Sams, a spokesman for the White House counsel’s office, said in a statement: “We respect the rule of law and have no further comment.”
But Biden’s campaign team made clear that the president would continue to prosecute his own case against Trump as the country looks ahead to November.
“Today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality,” Tyler said. “There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the polls. Convicted criminal or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.”
Trump issued a rambling statement Thursday night, calling himself a “very innocent man” and describing the trial as “rigged.” He blamed the Biden administration and what he called a “Soros-backed” district attorney for the verdict, a reference to billionaire George Soros, who is a common target of conspiracy theories and right-wing outrage.
“That was a shame. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt. It’s a rigged trial, a disgrace,” said Trump. “This was a fraudulent and shameful trial.”
