Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) called on all Americans — regardless of their personal preference or opinion of former President Donald Trump — to stand up against the injustice on display, which the senator described as outright “political prosecution.”
“I’m saddened for our Constitutional Republic and the rule of law,” Paul began in a social media update posted Wednesday morning — the day after Trump arrived at the Manhattan courthouse for his arraignment.
“All Americans should stand up to this injustice, regardless of their political views or opinions of the former President,” he added:
Paul is hardly the only political figure speaking out in support of the president. On Tuesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) concluded that leftist district attorney Alvin Bragg is “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.” He added that this weaponization of the federal justice process “will be held accountable by Congress”:
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) used similar language in a statement as well, lambasting the left’s blatant “weaponization of the justice system” and predicting Trump — who pled not guilty to all 34 counts of falsifying business records– will “defeat these charges in court and turn the tables on the Far Left Democrats by exposing their corruption and abuse of power.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, speculated that the indictment would not have happened if Trump was not running for president again:
Trump also called on Republicans in Congress to take action, urging them to defund the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) “until they come to their senses”:
A Harvard-Harris survey released month found most agreeing that an indictment of Trump is “politically motivated,” and a recent Insider Advantage survey found 79 percent of Republicans agreeing the government has been weaponized against Republicans and conservatives.
Trump delivered a speech after returning to Mar-a-Lago Tuesday evening, in which he said his only crime is defending the country from those who “seek to destroy it.”
RELATED — Trump: My Only Crime Is Defending Country “from Those Who Seek to Destroy It”
“I never thought anything like this could happen in America, never thought it could happen,” he said. “The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it.”