Aug. 15 (UPI) — Political reaction Tuesday to the criminal indictment of former President Donald Trump on charges he and more than a dozen co-defendants illegally interfered in the 2020 election in Georgia largely split along party lines.
The Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill welcomed the indictment, the fourth against Trump, saying it reaffirmed the belief that in America no one, not even the president, was above the law, but on the other side of the aisle furious Republicans called it a “sham” and a weaponizing of government to game the 2024 election.
The indictment, like the three preceding it, revealed a pattern of criminal behavior showing how Trump pushed his “Big Lie” to steal the 2020 election, undermine democracy and “overturn the will of the people of Georgia,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. said in a joint statement.
“The actions taken by the Fulton County District Attorney, along with other state and federal prosecutors, reaffirms the shared belief that in America no one, not even the president, is above the law.”
But House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., condemned the latest legal action against Trump, describing it as a political attack by President Joe Biden.
“Justice should be blind, but Biden has weaponized government against his leading political opponent to interfere in the 2024 election,” he said.
“Now a radical District Attorney in Georgia is following Biden’s lead by attacking President Trump and using it to fundraise her political career. Americans see through this desperate sham.”
House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said the indictment was the latest effort by Democrats to conduct a “Witch Hunt” against the former president.
“He did nothing wrong!” Jordan wrote on social media.
But fellow Republicans vying with Trump to become the party’s candidate for president in next year’s election had a different response.
In a statement early Tuesday, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson maintained his long-standing position that Trump had disqualified himself from ever holding the nation’s highest office again and appealed to voters to give him the chance to challenge Trump by helping him meet the criteria for the first Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee on Aug. 23.
The indictment by the grand jury was “another day of challenge for our democracy,” Asa said.
As a former federal prosecutor who had pursued racketeering charges in federal court against terrorist organizations, he said he understood the difficulty of a multi-defendant state indictment and how slow the case may proceed.
“Regardless, I expect voters to make the ultimate decision on the future of our democracy.”
Debate is now turning to the logistics of Trump’s arrest and arraignment with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis mandating he voluntarily surrender to authorities there no later than Aug. 25.
Security has been stepped up in and around the court complex in Atlanta over fears the case could attract pro-Trump demonstrators, some of whom could be violent. Willis has reportedly requested FBI assistance with security and kitted out some members of staff with bulletproof vests.
Arrangements are likely to be coordinated between Trump’s lawyers and Willis’ office with input from the Secret Service and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department, which is responsible for the main jail system for Atlanta, as well as courthouse security.
The sheriff has said Trump would not receive any special treatment which could mean he would to taken to jail on Rice Street in the northwest of the city for a medical, fingerprinting, a check for outstanding warrants and have his booking photo taken.
Those who fail to post, or are refused, bail usually appear before a judge within 24 hours of being arrested.
When Trump surrendered to New York prosecutors in April after being indicted on business fraud charges related to alleged hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, he was neither handcuffed nor required to have his mugshot taken.
