Several Michigan Republican elected officials and candidates endorsed former President Donald Trump on Thursday shortly after he was convicted of 34 felonies related to a hush money cover-up that occurred before the 2016 election.
But a former Republican congressman said the verdict would hurt him in Michigan among certain voters, while Democrats said the decision showed the court system worked.
The New York verdict makes Trump the first former president to be convicted of serious crimes. The conviction stems from charges that Trump falsified business records to cover up hush money payments made to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who alleged she had sexual relations with Trump in 2006, so that it would not harm her in the 2016 presidential election. .
At a fundraising campaign shortly after the verdict, Trump declared himself a “political prisoner.”
“The Democrats want me locked up, so today I humbly ask for your support,” the request said.
In a series of posts and statements Thursday on social media, Republican officials in Michigan supported the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee and called the court process a “politically motivated prosecution” and a “sham trial.”
“If Donald Trump’s name wasn’t Donald Trump, he would have been acquitted. What a travesty,” Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Bruce Township, said on social media Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Netherlands, commented that “the circus has come full circle.”
“This trial was a sham and embodies the dangerous law used to undermine our justice system,” Huizenga said.
But former U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, said the effect of the conviction will likely be more evident among independent voters than among Republican stalwarts.
“Any guilty verdict was never going to affect Trump’s base. They are already 100% motivated. But it clearly affects independent voters,” Upton said. “Under any scenario, a convicted felon will not get as many votes if he had been acquitted. This will hurt him in a swing state like Michigan.”
Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra said Michigan voters would see the “political operation” and that November would be “the real verdict that will right this wrong.”
“…This sham trial has been widely ignored by legal experts,” Hoekstra said in a statement. “It’s supposed to be a distraction from the real issues at play, the issues that (President Joe) Biden knows he’s losing with Michigan voters, like the economy, the attack on our auto industry and the weakness of our southern border.” “.
Former state Sen. Tom Barrett, a Charlotte Republican running for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District seat, said the verdict marked a “sad day” for the country.
“No reasonable person would suggest this was a fair trial or a fair jury,” Barrett said on social media. “No political leader in American history has been more targeted by these legal warfare tactics, clearly designed to hold him hostage while he seeks the presidency.”
Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, a Brighton Republican and former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who is running for the U.S. Senate and is backed by Trump, called the prosecution and verdict “un-American.”
“I have no doubt that this affront to justice will be successfully appealed and President Trump will be acquitted, but we cannot ignore the reckless use of Joe Biden and his allies as a weapon of our nation’s justice system and the long-term damage term that their malice has caused.” Rogers said in a statement.
Republican Senate candidate Sandy Pensler of Grosse Pointe Park called it “a really sad day for America, whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat.”
“The charges would never have been filed if he had not run for president, and I think that’s outrageous. I think the jury instructions clearly violated the Sixth Amendment and will be overturned on appeal,” Pensler said. “Plus, it’s fuel for his campaign. The fact that someone can be convicted of a serious crime and everyone thinks he’s very biased.”
Kildee: “Respect the verdict”
Michigan Democrats quickly welcomed the verdict in statements indicating that the jury’s conclusion showed that “no one is above the law.”
“The former president received due process and a fair trial,” said U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, who is not running for re-election. “The jury has returned its verdict and all Americans must respect the verdict and the rule. Of law.”
U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate, said the verdict marked a “sad” and “unprecedented” day for the country.
“Presidents should be leaders we admire; now, one of them is a convicted felon, found guilty by a jury of his peers,” Slotkin said on social media. “That’s nothing to celebrate. The only good news is that our justice system worked, even under enormous pressure.”
Democratic President Joe Biden’s campaign stressed in a statement that, even after Thursday’s verdict, the only way to defeat Trump remains at the polls.
“Whether convicted or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president,” said Michael Tyler, the campaign’s communications director. “The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater.”
Trump himself told reporters after leaving the courtroom that he would be vindicated at the polls.
“The true verdict will be given by the people on November 5,” said the former president. “They know what happened and everyone knows what happened here.”
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
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