Last night, former President Donald Trump was indicted by a Georgia grand jury on criminal charges over his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election, an election he knew he lost. This is Trump’s fourth indictment, but as expected, MAGA Republicans in Congress are rushing to his defense and using their widely criticized bogus investigations into President Biden to distract from Trump’s troubles.
House of Representatives
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA): “Justice should be blind, but Biden has weaponized government against his leading political opponent to interfere in the 2024 election. Now a radical DA 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.” [Twitter, 8/14/23]
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY): “This is another rogue Far Left radical District Attorney weaponizing their office to target Joe Biden’s top political opponent President Trump. President Trump had every legal right to challenge the results of the election. This radical DA displayed political bias toward President Trump so much that a judge disqualified her from part of this case. This blatant election interference by the Far Left will not work, President Trump will defeat these bogus charges and win back the White House in 2024.” [Twitter, 8/14/23]
House Judiciary GOP: “In the dead of the night, an overzealous junior varsity prosecutor from a county [sic] filled with crime and corruption indicted President Trump for purely political purposes. Disgraceful.” [Twitter, 8/14/23]
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH): “Today’s indictment is just the latest political attack in the Democrats’ WITCH HUNT against President Trump. He did nothing wrong!” [Twitter, 8/14/23]
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO): “Another week, another sham indictment. This time it’s a radical prosecutor in Fulton County who wants nothing more than to stop President Trump from participating in the 2024 Presidential Election. And of course, the leftist media will run wall-to-wall indictment coverage and continue to ignore the Biden family’s corruption. This is a politically charged witch hunt, plain and simple.” [Twitter, 8/15/23]
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ): “Witch hunt. The American people see straight through these sham political weapons.” [Twitter, 8/15/23]
BONUS: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA): “We are drifting towards the greatest constitutional crisis since the 1850s. [This is] a desperate last ditch effort by a corrupt machine to destroy their most dangerous opponent. in a way which… breaks the Constitution, destroys the rule of law.” [Fox News, 8/14/23, VIDEO]
U.S. Senate
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “You’ve opened up Pandora’s Box to the presidency. This whole exercise of allowing a county prosecutor to go after a former president of the United States will do a lot of damage to the presidency itself over time. To my Democratic friends: Be careful what you wish for.” [Fox News, 8/14/23, VIDEO]
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX): “This prosecutor went in with an objective to indict Donald Trump. Dems don’t believe in democracy because they’re worried the voters don’t want four more years of the disaster that is Joe Biden. They want to abuse the justice system to take that choice away from voters.” [Twitter, 8/14/23]
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): “The newest charges against Trump in Fulton County come just days after AG Garland elevated Weiss to special counsel in the Hunter Biden case. Once again, the radical Left is targeting the Republican frontrunner, President Trump, to distract from the Biden family corruption.” [Twitter, 8/14/23]
Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH): “They published the indictment before the grand jury voted. How is this not a due process violation?” [Twitter, 8/14/23]
…Meanwhile, Some MAGA Republicans Have Been Laser-Focused On Hunter Biden. As former President Trump’s impending indictment loomed, top House Republicans quickly pivoted to their investigations into President Biden and his family. The House Oversight Committee released a former FBI supervisory special agent’s transcript, and Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) tweeted, “Over the last 5 years, David Weiss refused to follow evidence that could have led to Joe Biden, attempted to sneakily give Hunter a sweetheart plea deal, & let statute of limitations expire. I was against a special counsel from the beginning. The appointment of Weiss is a joke.” Meanwhile, Fox News faced criticism for airing “wall to wall” coverage of Hunter Biden as the grand jury deliberated.
Right-Wing Media Turned To Fear Mongering, Lies, & Conspiracy Theories To Cover for Donald Trump. While the grand jury processed Trump’s fourth indictment, right-wing media figures fell back on the usual MAGA lies to cover for the former president. Fox News hosts questioned each other’s loyalty and invited Trump surrogates to appear live, while host Mark Levin compared the indictment to those of “autocratic regimes,” claiming “Stalin would be proud.” A Fox News guest suggested that the Georgia state legislature pass a law empowering GOP Governor Brian Kemp the ability to pardon Trump and one Newsmax guest even claimed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was charging Donald Trump to appease the Black community.