US lawmakers divided over Trump's indictment

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US lawmakers and political leaders offered mixed reactions Tuesday to the indictment of former President Donald Trump, who faces 34 felony counts for falsifying business records.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of “attempting to interfere in our democratic process by invoking federal law to bring politicized charges against President Trump, admittedly using federal funds, while at the same time arguing that the peoples’ representatives in Congress lack jurisdiction to investigate this farce.“

“Bragg’s weaponization of the federal justice process will be held accountable by Congress,” he wrote on Twitter.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he believes Trump will have a ”fair trial that follows the facts and the law.”

“There’s no place in our justice system for any outside influence or intimidation in the legal process. As the trial proceeds, protest is an American right, but all protests must be peaceful,” he wrote on Twitter.

Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio said that “today, American politics crosses a line that it's never going to come back from” after the arraignment of Trump, calling the charges against the former president “absurd.”

“It's political, but it's more than just political. It's poison to our country,” he said in a video message posted on Twitter.

Republican Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, who is a defender of Trump, said in a statement that Trump’s arrest was “shameful.”

“This dangerous and illegal overreach by a radical DA has completely backfired for the corrupt Far Left Democrats who would rather desperately tear apart the fabric of our country than face President Trump at the ballot box,” she wrote.

Republican Senator Mitt Romney released a statement saying the “New York prosecutor has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda."

“No one is above the law, not even former presidents, but everyone is entitled to equal treatment under the law. The prosecutor’s overreach sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents and damages the public’s faith in our justice system,” he added.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said “the arrest and arraignment of former President Donald Trump by a left-wing Soros prosecutor today is making a mockery of the rule of law,” referring to billionaire George Soros, who is accused by many in right-wing politics of donating to Bragg’s 2021 election campaign for district attorney.

"Not only is the indictment frivolous, this political persecution marks a dark day for our country," he added.

California Democrat Representative Eric Swalwell meanwhile stressed that “justice benefits all of us.”

“As Donald Trump challenges the legitimacy of our criminal justice system, let us give him the equal protection and due process he’s deprived everyone he’s accused of a crime,” he tweeted.

The White House avoided questions on Trump’s indictment, with President Joe Biden refusing to comment.

Asked about the issue, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: "So first, I have to say this. It's an ongoing case, so we're just not going to comment on the case specifically itself.”

"The president is going to focus on the American people like he does every day,” she said. ​​​​​​​

"This is not something that is a focus for him.”