KY Republicans blast Trump hush money trial guilty verdict: ‘Sad day for America’
Kentucky Republicans in Congress rushed to condemn a New York City’s jury’s decision Thursday to convict former President Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a sexual relationship that may have threatened his 2016 campaign.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a brief statement — one that didn’t mention Trump by name — saying the charges “never should have been brought in the first place.”
“I expect the conviction to be overturned on appeal,” he posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.
The relationship between McConnell and the 45th president has long been tense, though Kentucky’s senior senator did ultimately endorse Trump for president in March.
Sen. Rand Paul questioned the survival of the republic.
“How long can our republic survive once partisans have taken over the judicial process?” Paul, who has not endorsed Trump, posted on X. “This verdict will tragically undermine Americans’ confidence in impartial justice. A sad day for America.”
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky’s 6th District blasted the Manhattan prosecutor who brought the case as “corrupt” and the tactics used during the trial “unconstitutional.”
Barr dubbed it a “sham trial ... marked by outrageous and unconstitutional tactics.”
“It won’t stop me and millions of Americans from acquitting the president of these politically motivated charges and sending him back to the White House in November,” Barr added.
Randy Cravens, Barr’s Democratic challenger in November, said in a statement Barr’s comments showed “he has lost his way in his fervent support” of Trump. In doing so, the GOP incumbent from Lexington threw “decency to the side, and venom toward our justice system and its impartial jurors.”
Trump echoed Barr’s sentiment in a statement after the verdict telling reporters, “The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5th by the people.”
Rep. James Comer, a Republican in Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District, similarly branded the jury’s decision as a Democratic Party pursuit to “weaponize the courts, abuse America’s judicial system and target President Joe Biden’s political opposition.”
Northern Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie said there was no underlying crime in Trump’s case.
“Partisan hacks serving as judges, investigators and prosecutors have turned our legal system into a farce at both the state and federal level,” Massie posted.
Rep. Brett Guthrie called the trial “an outlandish abuse of our criminal justice system” and a “kangaroo court.”
“This was a baseless trial brought by a partisan hack prosecutor solely to stop President Trump from regaining the White House,” the 2nd District representative wrote online.
And Rep. Hal Rogers, the dean of the U.S. House, echoed McConnell’s assessment that it would be reversed on appeal.
“It is a weaponization of the courts for political gain. Biden forces claim victory, but it will backfire and elect Trump. They claim they won this battle, but we will win the war,” Rogers said in a statement Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, Rep. Morgan McGarvey of Louisville — the commonwealth’s lone Democrat in Congress — said the trial shows “no one is above the law.”
“Donald Trump is now a convicted felon,” the 3rd District representative wrote in a statement. “He is also the presumptive Republican nominee for president and he is unfit to serve in any public office, especially president of the United States.”
Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July 11, days before Republicans will convene in Milwaukee to formally nominate him for president for a third straight time.
He is almost certain to appeal the verdict, prolonging the case for months.
This story was originally published May 30, 2024 at 5:48 PM with the headline "KY Republicans blast Trump hush money trial guilty verdict: ‘Sad day for America’."
