Characteristically and predictably, Republican leaders were outraged at the verdict delivered on Thursday of guilty on all counts in the New York City criminal case against former President Donald Trump. Consistently, they characterized the developments as politically motivated.
“Today is 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. This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one,” insisted Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), though it was a Manhattan jury that convicted Trump rather than “Democrats” enacting the deed. Johnson also looked onward to the November election.
“The American people see this as lawfare, and they know it is wrong—and dangerous. President Trump will rightfully appeal this absurd verdict—and he WILL WIN!” Johnson insisted.
To be clear, in none of Trump’s four criminal cases is there any apparent evidence of some kind of political plot fueling the courses of events rather than an assembling of alleged evidence of real-world acts then presented to a grand jury tasked with approving the indictment against the ex-president.
The top comment on Johnson’s post to X (formerly Twitter) was from an account going by The Hoarse Whisperer. “Cry more. Never stop crying,” they mocked. “You are a shameless fraud. Don’t get comfortable in the Speaker’s suite,” added activist Fred Wellman.
“Speaker of the House attacks a jury of American citizens who conscientiously heard the evidence and deliberated in this case,” remarked anti-Trump conservative Bill Kristol of Johnson’s comments. “Yes, Mike, the justice system has been weaponized—against crime,” continued ex-federal official Richard Stengel.
As exemplified by Johnson’s comments, Republicans are largely sticking right by Trump ahead of this year’s election even after what’s now a conviction on 34 felony criminal charges involving falsifying records.
