Reaction poured in from both sides of the political aisle Thursday following a Manhattan grand jury’s vote to indict former president Donald Trump.
Democrats have said this should not be a partisan issue, saying that no one is above the law. Some Republicans, though, have said the indictment is proof that Democrats are weaponizing the law.
“It is sad that this is the first time in our country’s history that we’ve got a former president that’s going to be charged criminally and it will be surreal, I think, in some aspects,” Congressman Stephen Lynch said in an interview.
Lynch said while he was suprised by the timing of the indictment, he was not surprised by the outcome.
“I thought it more likely than not there would be some charges,” Lynch said.
Another member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, Congressman Seth Moulton, called Thursday “a sad and frankly embarrassing day for America” while live on 7NEWS.
He also said, however, that the indictment sends a clear and positive message about the nation’s democracy.
“I’m sure that some of our adversaries will try to take advantage of this and try to say ‘Here’s America falling apart,’ or something like that,” Moulton said. “Actually, this is a sign of American strength. It is a tremendous strength of democracies like ours that nobody is above the law.”
“This shouldn’t be a Democratic issue, it shouldn’t be a Republican issue,” Congressman Bill Keating said. “It’s an issue for all Americans surrounding our rule of law.”
As a former prosecutor, Keating said Americans should refrain from judgment, as the indictment remained under seal Thursday and as Trump’s charges remained unknown.
Keating also discussed disgraced lawyer and former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, who testified to the Manhattan grand jury against his former boss.
“Michael Cohen did face charges, was convicted on evidence that was there,” he said. “As we find out how much this overlaps or whether the issues are the same, it does demonstrate that no one is above the law.”
Cohen served time after his federal conviction related to the same hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels that are involved in the indictment against Trump.
Cohen defended his credibility on CNN and suggested charges against Trump go well beyond those payments.
“I am a convicted felon,” Cohen said. “I am a disbarred lawyer. But I also brought the documents.”
“There’s plenty of corroborating testimony to go around,” Cohen continued.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy posted a Tweet Thursday accusing the Manhattan district attorney of weaponizing the justice system, writing “Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election.”
Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. shared a similar response on his podcast shortly after news of the indictment broke.
“Apparently this corrupt, leftist DA is indicting my father on claims that even the federal government that spent six years trying to put him in jail — even they didn’t want to touch it.” Trump Jr. said. “And yet, they go forward.”
Several Republicans in Congress continued shared their support, with representatives Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise calling Trump’s indictment “outrageous.”
Sen. Ted Cruz also called the indictment “a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system.”
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