Allies of Former US President Donald Trump’s Republican defended him following the controversial decision of the Manhattan grand jury on his indictment.
After the grand jury voted to indict the former President, which made him the first former president in American history to face criminal charges, Trump’s allies in the Congress reportedly protested to his defense, arguing that the decision was politically motivated.
“President Donald Trump always fought for us. He puts the American people above corrupt interests. For that reason alone, the powerful will never stop coming for him,” Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida said in an official statement, immediately after the indictment news broke.
“A majority of Americans know Alvin Bragg’s witch hunt is a politically motivated prosecution. I continue to stand with President Trump as he has always stood with us.” Gaetz added, referring to the Manhattan district attorney.
In addition, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas claimed that “this is completely unprecedented and is a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also argued that it was “profound” to learn of the former President’s indictment while waiting to give a Lincoln’s Day Address on the Gettysburg battlefield.
“My President is innocent and the only one standing in the way of these modern day tyrants, just like our founding fathers did, to protect each of us from evil,” Greene added.
Moreover, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also blasted Bragg, who led the investigation into Trump’s role in the hush-money payment.
Trump allies erupt in fury over the former president’s indictment. https://t.co/7W1U3Ph5ws— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 31, 2023
In the statement, McCarthy accused the district attorney of having “irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election.”
“The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account,” McCarthy lamented.
Aside from congressional lawmakers, other prominent Republicans also blasted the decision and denounced the charges filed against Trump.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also called the indictment a “weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda” and “un-American.”
Earlier this month, DeSantis released a statement, directly references the potential indictment of Trump.
“I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair,” DeSantis said in a statement.
Amid the controversy, Trump blasted the allegations, saying “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.”
