CNN: Former President Donald Trump responded Thursday after a grand jury voted to indict him with a statement, calling it “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.”
“This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats — the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country — have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement. You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this.
“The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable — indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference.
“Never before in our Nation’s history has this been done. The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever.
“Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who was hand-picked and funded by George Soros, is a disgrace. Rather than stopping the unprecedented crime wave taking over New York City, he’s doing Joe Biden’s dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on. This is how Bragg spends his time!
“I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden. The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party — united and strong — will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Congressional Trump Loyalists Rally behind the Former President
From CNN’s Nicky Robertson
GOP lawmakers who have been loyal defenders of Donald Trump are rallying behind the former president after his indictment Thursday by a Manhattan grand jury.
The charges have not been made public, yet many immediately came to his defense, alleging Trump’s innocence.
Rep. Jim Jordan, the House Judiciary chairman, tweeted one word: “Outrageous.”
Sen. Ted Cruz said in a tweet, “The Democrat Party’s hatred for Donald Trump knows no bounds. The ‘substance’ of this political persecution is utter garbage. This is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system.”
Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, called the indictment “outrageous.”
“The sham New York indictment of President Donald Trump is one of the clearest examples of extremist Democrats weaponizing government to attack their political opponents,” Scalise tweeted Thursday.
Even before an indictment was announced, Republicans attacked the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and accused him of being politically motivated to go after Trump.
While a number of Trump’s Capitol Hill allies have been quick to defend the former president, one moderate Republican told CNN he trusted the legal system.
“I believe in the rule of law,” US Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska told CNN. “I think we have checks and balances and I trust the system.”
Bacon said it was important to let the process play out. Bacon stressed that his statements were not about whether he supported a Trump indictment or not, but about protecting the legal system.
Some Democrats praised the justice system, saying that the Trump indictment shows “no one is above the law” and others are calling it a “sad day” for the country.
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California called the moment “unique throughout all of American history.”
“If we are to be a nation of laws, then we must apply the law equally and to everyone, regardless of their station. Few nations have lived up to this ideal, and our own country has often fallen far too short. But if we are to have justice, if we are to have a rule of law that is meaningful and protective of our democracy, we must hold the rich and powerful to account, even when those persons hold high office — perhaps most importantly, when they hold high office,” he said in a statement. “To do otherwise, because holding a president accountable is controversial or provocative, will not bring order, but breed disorder, and disrespect of the law.”
Trump Attorney Says He Is a “Victim of a Corrupt and Distorted Version of the American Justice System”
From CNN’s Katelyn Polantz and Paula Reid
Alina Habba, an attorney for Donald Trump, released a statement Thursday after a grand jury voted to indict Donald Trump.
“A former president, a current candidate and my friend President Donald J. Trump is a victim of a corrupt and distorted version of the American justice system and history. He will be vindicated,” Habba’s statement read.
Attorneys Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina – who are representing him in the Manhattan grand jury probe – also released a joint statement: “President Trump has been indicted. He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this this political prosecution in Court,” the statement read.
MAGA CEO on Trump indictment: “There was no crime”
From CNN’s Kristen Holmes
Taylor Budowich, the CEO of Make America Great Again Inc., tweeted a statement Thursday after a grand jury voted to indict Donald Trump saying “this is not an indictment of a crime — there was no crime — instead, this news is the indictment of a failed nation.”
