Reaction to arraignment of Donald Trump

Reaction was mixed among congressional and political leaders after former President Donald Trump was arraigned in a New York City court on Tuesday. Predictably, opinions lined up across party lines, with Democrats lauding the decision while Republicans criticized it.

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Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree during a historic arraignment in a Manhattan court. A grand jury indicted the former president last week, marking the first time that a president or former president faced criminal charges.

Trump is accused of entering false business records “with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who represents the state of New York, tweeted that Trump will receive a fair trial “that follows the facts and the law.”

“There’s no place in our justice system for any outside influence or intimidation in the legal process,” the Democrat tweeted. “As the trial proceeds, protest is an American right, but all protests must be peaceful.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio called the arraignment and subsequent charges “a bad day,” calling the charges “absurd.”

“Today is a bad day for all of us and we are all going to regret it for a very long time,” the senior senator from Florida tweeted in a video. “Today we set the new normal that if you really want to take someone down, nothing should stop you. You should be able to manipulate the law anyway you want to charge someone.”

U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who was the lead prosecutor in the House when Trump was impeached in 2020, called the arraignment “a somber moment in the life of our country.”

“As the case falls to the DA to prove, we must recognize what is most important: Even the most powerful are held to account, and that nobody is above the law,” Schiff tweeted.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, accused officials in New York of playing politics, calling it “wholly political and baseless.”

“The arrest and arraignment of former President Donald Trump by a left-wing Soros prosecutor today is making a mockery of the rule of law,” Cruz tweeted. “Not only is the indictment frivolous, this political persecution marks a dark day for our country.”

Ronald Welch, the dean of the University of Baltimore School of Law, said he expects Trump and his legal team to vigorously contest the charges brought by District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

“New York state has very generous discovery rules where the defendant is given many of the documents that form the evidence against him or her,” Weich told WBAL-TV.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he supported the former president and called out “the left’s weaponization of the justice system.”

“They’ll use it to go after the mom at school board meetings or anyone with conservative values,” Paxton, a Republican, wrote on Twitter. “I stand w/Trump & will always fight against those who want to destroy our Republic.”

The White House did not weigh in on the events that unfolded in New York, other than to say officials had no comment.

“I think the American people should feel reassured that when there is an ongoing case like this one that we’re just not commenting,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, who voted to convict Trump in his two impeachment trials, said that Bragg “has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda, according to The Washington Post.

“I believe President Trump’s character and conduct make him unfit for office,” Romney said. “No one is above the law, not even former presidents, but everyone is entitled to equal treatment under the law. The prosecutor’s overreach sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents and damages the public’s faith in our justice system.

“The charges and evidence will be duly considered and the outcome decided by a jury with an obligation to fulfill its responsibility with the utmost care and impartiality. The American voters will ultimately render their own judgment on the former President’s political future.”

U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean said the former president’s indictment was something he brought upon himself.

“Mr. Trump was a president of many firsts -- none of which were good for our country,” tweeted Dean, D-Pa. “His arraignment is another first -- all of his own making.”

Dean added that Trump an “immoral man” and a “corrupt citizen.”

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, tweeted that “when you drain the Swamp, the Swamp fights back.”

Rep Elaine Stefanik, R-N.Y., called Trump’s arrest “shameful.”

“President Trump continues to skyrocket in the polls, and just like with the Russia hoax and both sham impeachments, President Trump will defeat the latest witch-hunt, defeat Joe Biden, and will be sworn in as President of the United States in January 2025,” Stefanik said in a statement she also posted on Twitter.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., told reporters that the message from Tuesday’s legal proceedings was “take responsibility, hold yourself accountable, and go away.”