Republicans promise legal retaliation following Trump’s guilty verdict

Republicans are preparing to exact revenge after former President Donald Trump was convicted of criminal charges this week, ramping up their investigations into President Joe Biden and Democrats to even the score ahead of the November election.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) was among the first to decry Trump’s guilty verdict, announcing on Friday he would be asking Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and prosecutor Matthew Colangelo to appear before Congress in June for a public hearing to discuss the case. Jordan has been investigating the two attorneys over the last several months over allegations the pair had revived the criminal case against Trump to harm his presidential campaign.

“This hearing will examine actions by state and local prosecutors to engage politically motivated prosecutions of federal officials, in particular the recent political prosecution of President Donald Trump by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office,” Jordan wrote in letters to Bragg and Colangelo on Friday.

It’s also possible the House Oversight Committee could ramp up its impeachment inquiry into Biden, making it all the more likely the president will face some sort of criminal referral by House investigators. A spokesperson for the committee told the Washington Examiner there was no update at this time on how lawmakers will proceed.

Outside of Capitol Hill, Republican attorneys general across the country are vowing to defend Trump.

Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas was quick to come out against Trump’s verdict, vowing to “unleash every tool at my disposal to fight this blatant corruption and political persecution spewing from New York and the Biden administration.” It’s not entirely clear what that effort will look like, but it’s not the first time Paxton has come to Trump’s defense.

The Texas attorney general previously led efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the Lone Star State, which was ultimately unsuccessful and landed him in trouble with a disciplinary committee of the State Bar of Texas.

Other Republicans, especially those who are rumored to be contenders for positions in a possible Trump administration, have also vowed to challenge the conviction.

Mike Davis, a potential pick for attorney general, even went so far as to tell Axios that GOP prosecutors in Georgia and Florida should open criminal investigations into Democrats to determine whether Trump’s indictment amounts to election interference.

Senate Republicans are also waging war against Biden, with a group of lawmakers led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) threatening to halt action in the upper chamber in response to Trump’s conviction.

In a statement issued on Friday, Lee and a group of seven other Republican senators vowed not to advance any “non-security related funding” for the remainder of the Biden administration or any confirmations for judicial or political appointees. The group also vowed not to allow for the expeditious passage of any Democratic-led legislation or priorities.

“Strongly worded statements are not enough,” Lee posted on X. “Those who turned our judicial system into a political cudgel must be held accountable. We are no longer cooperating with any Democrat legislative priorities or nominations, and we invite all concerned Senators to join our stand.”

That letter was signed by senators such as Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and J.D. Vance (R-OH), who are both considered to be contenders for Trump’s running mate.

Meanwhile, Republicans are seeking to leverage the conviction in their favor. The National Republican Senatorial Committee was quick to blast out fundraising emails attacking vulnerable incumbents such as Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) for not condemning the verdict.

The GOP campaign arms began reporting record fundraising hauls just one day after the verdict against Trump came down. The Trump campaign sent out a statement saying it “shattered” fundraising records by bringing in $34.8 million — almost twice as much as any single day in the past.

Whether the verdict will shift Trump into a more favorable position to win back the presidency remains to be seen. For weeks, even as the trial unfolded, the public polling for the presidential race had barely moved.

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Most people, according to polling, considered the New York hush money case to be less serious than the former president’s other criminal cases. Earlier this month, a Quinnipiac University survey found that even among Trump supporters, 6% said they would be less likely to vote for him if he were convicted.

Polls will likely come out in the coming days and weeks, but the results of those polls may not be solid indicators of where voters will stand come November, particularly as Trump faces his other criminal cases.