Senate Republicans on Thursday broadly denounced former President Trump’s conviction for falsifying business records, calling it a “disgrace” and a “sham” and arguing that the true sentence will come in November.
Republicans were quick to criticize the verdict after the jury found Trump guilty on all 34 charges. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who is seeking to succeed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as the top Republican in the Senate next year, called on Republicans to support the former president.
“This verdict is a disgrace and this trial should never have taken place,” Cornyn said. Written on social platform X“Now more than ever, we need to rally around @realdonaldtrump, take back the White House and the Senate, and get this country back on track. The real verdict will be on Election Day.”
Sen. John Thune, R-S.C., the No. 2 in Senate leadership and the front-runner to succeed McConnell as the chamber’s top Democrat, said the lawsuit was “politically motivated” and that he hoped the November election would be a chance to remove President Biden from office.
“This case has been politically motivated from the beginning, and today’s ruling does not exonerate the partisan nature of this prosecution,” Thune said. “Whatever the outcome, more and more Americans realize that four more years of a Joe Biden administration are intolerable. With President Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of the U.S. Senate, we can finally put an end to the Biden-Schumer Administration’s disastrous policies that are ruining American families and businesses.”
The third-ranking Senate Republican, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, accused the Biden administration of “weaponizing” the justice system against the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
“New York’s lawsuit against President Trump is in no way a matter of justice,” Barrasso said. It said in a statement“Democrats are using the justice system as a weapon against their political opponents. Elections are decided at the ballot box, not in the courtroom.”
“President Trump will continue to fight to put America back on the right track,” he continued.
Trump’s supporters quickly rallied around him after the verdict was handed down, making him the first former president to be convicted.
“This verdict is a complete miscarriage of justice,” said Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), a potential running mate for the former president. “While the outcome of this case will no doubt be appealed, it is an embarrassment to our justice system that such a step is necessary.”
“The partisan bias of this potential juror shows why politics should be fought at the ballot box, not in the courtroom,” he continued. “Ultimately, I believe the 2024 election will be decided by the American people, not corrupt judges and prosecutors.”
Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a leading ally of Trump, said he expects the ruling will be overturned on appeal and is concerned about what it would mean for the presidency as a whole.
“The Manhattan justice system has been made a laughing stock in every sense of the word. This is a mockery of justice,” Graham said. “I fear it has opened a Pandora’s box of the presidency itself.”
Even people who previously weren’t Trump’s most ardent supporters came out in support of the former president.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis said in a statement he was “shocked” by the verdict and blasted Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, as an “extreme and politically motivated state prosecutor.” [who] “He used the full force of his power to attack President Trump while turning a blind eye to violent criminals.”
“We expect and hope to appeal this ruling to resolve fundamental questions, including whether President Trump received a fair trial and whether the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office had jurisdiction over federal election matters,” Tillis continued.
Even Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), who voted to convict Trump in his January 6 impeachment trial, said he was not surprised by the verdict but disagreed.
“The jury was led to believe that a misdemeanor became two felonies and that a state court could enforce a federal law. None of this is true. The rule of law should be applied equally to both parties,” Cassidy said. “I disagree with the verdict.”
