Lawmakers on Tuesday leapt to comment on the news that former President Donald Trump had received his third indictment — this time on four federal charges relating to his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
The majority of responses were divided along party lines, with Democrats using the indictment as an opportunity to slam the former president, who is currently the frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Republicans, on the other hand, argued that the news was evidence of a partisan justice system, suggesting that the indictment was an attempt to unfairly defame Trump and distract from the ongoing legal troubles of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter
“This is nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election, in which President Trump is the undisputed frontrunner, and leading by substantial margins,” read a statement from the Trump campaign posted to Truth Social on Tuesday.
The statement went on to allege that the timing of the indictment amid the 2024 presidential primary was evidence of “election interference,” and compared legal actions against Trump and his supporters to the dictatorial regime of Nazi Germany.
Republicans primarily used their social media platforms to rally behind the former president Tuesday. The X account of the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee posted simply, “Election interference,” echoing the statement of the Trump campaign.
“When you drain the swamp, the swamp rights back,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “President Trump did nothing wrong!”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is currently polling second behind Trump in the Republican primary,wrote on X that while he had not read the indictment, he hoped to enact reforms that would reduce partisanship in the Department of Justice.
“One of the reasons our country is in decline is the politicization of the rule of law,” DeSantis wrote. “No more excuses — I will end the weaponization of the federal government.”
Democrats, meanwhile, expressed their support for the feral grand jury’s decision to indict Trump, condemning his role in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol.
“I’m glad to see that Donald Trump has been indicted for his role in trying to overthrow the results of the 2020 Presidential Election and for stoking the failed coup of January 6, 2021,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) wrote on X. “If he gets away with it others will try the same in the years ahead. The world is watching.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) posted a similar sentiment to her X account, writing that Trump “must be held accountable for conspiring to overturn an election and inciting a violent, fascist insurrection.”
Kelly Garrity and Christine Mui contributed to this report.