‘Unprecedented and Chilling’: GOP Lawmakers React to Trump’s Felony Charges

Republican lawmakers reacted to the indictment of 34 felony charges against former President Donald Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The Congresswoman termed the indictment as “unprecedented and chilling.”

At the arraignment hearing, Trump appeared sombre during the least serious class E felony charges hearing in New York state for allegedly falsifying business records. The indictment is part of Alvin Bragg’s investigation into the hush money payment to adult entertainment actress Stormy Daniels in the 2016 presidential election. Daniels claims she and the former president had an affair, which Trump has denied.

Prosecutors allege that Trump directed his lawyer Michael Cohen to pay Daniels $130,000 to refrain from disclosing the alleged affair, which he later illegally reimbursed Cohen as routine legal expenses, in violation of campaign finance laws.

Republicans have discredited Cohen and dismissed Bragg’s investigation as politically motivated.

The Impact of the Charges

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) condemned the arraignment, saying it “will permanently change politics in America forever.”

According to Rubio, “Today, American politics crosses a line that it’s never going to come back from.” He believes that the indictment will set a new standard for targeting political opponents using the law since prosecutors on both sides could manipulate the law to charge someone.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) shared similar thoughts, saying that Bragg ‘stretched charges’ to suit a political agenda. Romney noted that the prosecutor’s overreach sets precedence for criminalizing political opponents, which damages the public’s faith in the justice system, echoing Rubio’s comments.

Republicans’ Concerns

Republicans expressed concerns about what they distinguish as the political weaponization of the federal government against political opponents of President Joe Biden’s administration.

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) remarked that the indictment marked an unprecedented and chilling chapter in the Left’s weaponization of the justice system against their leading political opponent. Stefanik opined that the case demonstrates the corrupt Far Left Democrats’ desperation to tear apart the country’s fabric rather than facing Trump at the ballot box. Stefanik predicted that the charges against Trump would end in his re-election in 2025.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) tweeted his belief that the indictment resulted from retaliation against Trump’s decision to run again. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was also among the lawmakers who supported Trump and spoke out about the charges.