Cameron ‘appalled,’ Craft ‘sad.’ KY GOP candidates for governor react to Trump indictment
Kentucky’s Republican candidates for governor rushed to denounce Thursday’s criminal indictment of former President Donald Trump, as they raced to show loyalty in an effort to court his fervid supporters ahead of May’s primary.
Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the polling front-runner for the GOP nomination, said he was “appalled” by what he called the “political weaponization” of the U.S. Justice system against Trump. Kelly Craft, a former U.N. ambassador appointed by Trump, said she was “sad” about an “abuse of power.”
Trump, a candidate for president in 2024, was indicted in New York City for paying hush money to cover up a sexual relationship with adult porn star Stormy Daniels, according to multiple news outlets. He becomes the first former president in history to face criminal charges.
“The Manhattan DA is choosing to downplay violent felonies that are occurring in his district every day in favor of a politically motivated prosecution, because it appeases the desires of the far left,” Cameron said in a statement amplified by Trump on social media. “These actions are the exact opposite of how voters expect us to treat the law.”
Trump endorsed Cameron’s candidacy for governor last summer.
Craft contended that this is the latest and most dramatic example of the left weaponizing its government power to target conservatives.
“Just look what Barack Obama’s DOJ and IRS did and now [President] Biden is continuing it. It’s time that we put a stop to this abuse of power,” Craft tweeted. “Leftists will stop at nothing, including political prosecution, to stop President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Biden and George Soros-backed District Attorneys let criminals walk the streets. This must end.”
Neither mentioned that Trump is also facing a criminal investigation in the more traditionally conservative-leaning state of Georgia for his actions in attempting to interfere in the state’s certification of the 2020 election result there in favor of Biden.
Ryan Quarles, the commonwealth’s agriculture commissioner and another gubernatorial candidate, also accused New York’s district attorney of spending his time focusing on Trump instead of violent crime.
“This should come as no surprise since he spent his time openly campaigning for office with a plan to put President Trump behind bars. It reeks of political retribution,” Quarles asserted.
But it was a jury -- not Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg -- that settled on the charges against Trump, which are related to business fraud, according to news reports.
As of Thursday evening, members of Kentucky’s congressional delegation had not yet reacted to the charges against the former president.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
This story was originally published March 30, 2023 at 9:06 PM with the headline "Cameron ‘appalled,’ Craft ‘sad.’ KY GOP candidates for governor react to Trump indictment."
