Republicans rally behind Trump to his defence after felony verdict

Washington, May 31 (PTI) Republicans rallied behind former US president Donald Trump who on Thursday was convicted of a felony as a grand jury in New York found him guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

This made him the first former president to be convicted of a felony.

The jury found that the 77-year-old presumptive Republican presidential candidate, falsified the records in a scheme to influence his 2016 presidential election through hush money payments to a porn actor who had said she had sex with Trump.

Cutting across internal party divisions, the Republicans rallied around Trump as the jurors unanimously reached a verdict in the hush money criminal case.

“This will backfire," said Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy, who over the past few months has emerged as a close aide and confidant of Trump.

"The prosecutor is a politician who promised to nail Trump. The judge’s daughter is a Democrat operative who literally *raised dollars from the trial* while her father presided over it. The jury instructions said they didn’t have to agree on the crime to convict,” he said.

“Dems could have saved a lot of time by announcing the verdict first, and then having the trial,” said former Indian-American Governor Bobby Jindal from Louisiana.

“Pretty neat trick that the same Dem DA who makes violent felonies disappear conjured up these felonies,” he said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson described it as a shameful day in American history. “Democrats cheered as they convicted the leader of the opposing party on ridiculous charges, predicated on the testimony of a disbarred, convicted felon,” he said.

“This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one. The weaponisation of our justice system has been a hallmark of the Biden administration, and the decision today is further evidence that Democrats will stop at nothing to silence dissent and crush their political opponents,” Johnson said.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said extremist Democrats have undermined democracy by weaponising the courts to operate like a banana republic that targets their political opponents.

“Today’s verdict is a defeat for Americans who believe in the critical legal tenet that justice is blind. It was clear from the start that Biden teamed up with heavily biased DA Alvin Bragg to go after his political opponent regardless of wrongdoing — while hardened criminals are set free in New York to commit more violent crimes against innocent citizens,” he said.

He alleged that this is nothing more than an attempt to interfere with the 2024 election. “The radical Democrats behind this abuse of our justice system will not prevail. The voters will settle this on November 5th," he said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the verdict represents the culmination of a legal process that has been bent to the political will of the actors involved: a leftist prosecutor, a partisan judge and a jury reflective of one of the most liberal enclaves in America — all in an effort to 'get' Donald Trump.

“That this case — involving alleged misdemeanour business records violations from nearly a decade ago — was even brought is a testament to the political debasement of the justice system in places like New York City. This is especially true considering this same district attorney routinely excuses criminal conduct in a way that has endangered law-abiding citizens in his jurisdiction,” he said.

"Absolute injustice. This erodes our justice system. Hear me clearly: You cannot silence the American people. You cannot stop us from voting for change. Joe Biden — you’re fired. We the People stand with Donald J. Trump," said Senator Tim Scott.

“This is a politically-motivated sham trial. The American people decide our elections. Donald Trump will be our next president," said Sarah Huckbee Sanders, the Governor of Arkansas.

“This was a sham show trial. The Kangaroo Court will never stand on appeal. Americans deserve better than a sitting US President weaponising our justice system against a political opponent — all to win an election,” said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

"This verdict is a disgrace, and this trial should have never happened. Now more than ever, we need to rally around [President Donald Trump], take back the White House and Senate, and get this country back on track. The real verdict will be Election Day," said Senator John Cornyn.

Senator Ted Cruz said that this is a dark day for America. “This entire trial has been a sham, and it is nothing more than political persecution. The only reason they prosecuted Donald Trump is because Democrats are terrified that he will win reelection,” he said.

“This disgraceful decision is legally baseless and should be overturned promptly on appeal. Any judge with a modicum of integrity would recognise that this entire trial has been utterly fraudulent," Cruz said.

“This verdict is the corrupt result of a corrupt trial, a corrupt judge, and a corrupt DA. We will stand with President Trump now more than ever to save the country,” said Congressman Matt Gaetz.