Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, May 11, 2025

Republicans defend Trump by attacking criminal justice system

Republicans defend Trump by attacking criminal justice system

Many Republicans in the US Congress have responded to Donald Trump’s looming Tuesday arraignment by characterizing the criminal justice system as corrupt, in accusations that parallel their earlier broadsides against the nation’s elections after the former president’s 2020 defeat.
Trump and his allies in the House of Representatives and Senate have used rhetoric that echoed his false claims of widespread election fraud in the build-up to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol by his supporters.

Critics warn that the present partisan rhetoric could shake public trust in courts by undermining the institutional legitimacy of the criminal justice system.

“Trump’s indictment is the culmination of six years of the Democrats weaponizing law enforcement to target and persecute their political enemies.

Dictatorships operate like this – the US is supposed to be different,” tweeted Sen. Ted Cruz, a hard-line Republican who voted to overturn 2020 election results. Trump says he is innocent of the expected New York charges — which revolve around hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Details of the charges are as yet unclear.

He says the investigation and three other probes involving his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and his retention of classified documents after leaving the White House are all politically motivated.

Most Democrats have warned against challenging the legitimacy of the institutions of government in defense of Trump, who routinely pushed up against the guard rails of democracy during his four years in the White House and was twice impeached by Congress.

“Political leaders ought to stand up for the American system of government,” said Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren, a member of the House Judiciary Committee who also served on the congressional investigation of the Jan. 6 attack.

“Undercutting the system of government is a serious matter and a threat to our future,” she said in an interview.

Trump has been unrestrained in his rhetoric in recent weeks, calling for protests and warning of potential “death & destruction” if he were to be charged.

He used fiery language hours before his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, in a bid to overturn his election defeat. Five people including a police officer died during or shortly after that riot and more than 140 police officers were injured. The Capitol suffered millions of dollars in damage.

Most Republicans have trained their invective on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, accusing the prosecutor of mounting a politically motivated investigation aimed at preventing Trump from being reelected to the White House in 2024.

After Trump on March 18 announced that he expected to be arrested in days, the Republican-controlled House launched its own probe of Bragg’s grand jury investigation, seeking documents and testimony. They have called Bragg’s move “an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority” and said the indictment followed years of the office searching for any basis on which to bring charges.

Democrats questioned whether Congress has the authority to investigate a state-level investigation, particularly one conducted under secretive grand jury rules.

Bragg, a Democrat, on Friday warned Republican Representatives Jim Jordan, James Comer and Bryan Steil, who are leading the probe, against attacking the criminal justice system.

“You and many of your colleagues have chosen to collaborate with Mr. Trump’s efforts to vilify and denigrate the integrity of elected state prosecutors and trial judges,” the Manhattan prosecutor wrote.

House Republicans continued to push back. Firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene said she planned to protest against Trump’s court appearance on Tuesday, while Brian Mast went further and told CNN he would not accept the outcome of a jury trial, saying “I don’t have a trust that a jury will make a fair assessment of this.”

Not all Republicans were so quick to cast doubt on the courts.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued a statement that called for patience and underscored the legal principle that Trump, as a defendant, should be presumed innocent.

“We need to wait on the facts and for our American system of justice to work like it does for thousands of Americans every day,” said Hutchinson, who is considering his own 2024 White House run.

Historians including Princeton University professor Julian Zelizer said Republican statements about Bragg and the criminal justice system follow a long-established partisan line.

“The party has invested a great deal in attacking the legitimacy of institutions, which is why Trump fit well into the party and continues to be popular,” Zelizer said in an email.

Nicole Hemmer, director of the Rogers Center for the American Presidency at Vanderbilt University, warned that Republican attacks on the US criminal justice system could ultimately have dire consequences for courts and juries.

“This is the end-game of the ‘deep state’ rhetoric that Donald Trump has deployed since 2016 to sow those seeds of distrust in institutions of accountability,” Hemmer said.

“We haven’t yet seen a cataclysmic moment in this rejection of the courts. But we are starting to see the steps toward it, as we saw the steps toward Jan. 6 coming from a long way off.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected as Pope Leo XIV, Marking a Historic Papacy
India-Pakistan conflict may be first test for Chinese military tech
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Warren Buffett to Step Down as Berkshire CEO After Nearly 60 Years
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Massive Explosion at Iran's Bandar Abbas Port Linked to Suspicious Chemical Shipments
Pope Francis Laid to Rest in Rome as World Leaders Attend Funeral
Not Child’s Play: How Competitive Gaming Became a Global Economic Empire
California Surpasses Japan to Become the World’s Fourth-Largest Economy
Former U.S. Congressman George Santos sentenced to eighty-seven months for wide-ranging fraud
Israel Considers Limited Strikes on Iran's Nuclear Facilities Amid Diplomatic Efforts
Saudi Arabia Offers Max Verstappen Unprecedented Deal to Join Aston Martin
Global Pistachio Shortage Amid Rising Demand for 'Dubai Chocolate'
IMF Predicts No Global Recession Amid Trade Tensions
Removing the Political Rival Means Diminishing What's Remaining of Turkey's Economy
White House Investigates Security Breach After Journalist Accidentally Added to Secret Yemen Strike Chat
UAE Pledges $1.4 Trillion Investment Strategy in the United States
Revealing the Electromagnetic Characteristics of the Great Pyramid of Giza
Netanyahu Dismisses Shin Bet Chief Amid 'Loss of Trust' and 'Qatargate' Corruption Investigations Involving Netanyahu's Advisors
U.S. Approves $100 Million Precision Rocket Sale to Saudi Arabia Amid Ongoing Yemen Conflict
High-ranking ISIS Official Neutralized in Collaborative Operation in Iraq
Netanyahu Rejects UN Reports on Gaza as 'Untrue'
Six Americans Freed from Detention in Kuwait
Syria Wraps Up Military Campaign Amid Extensive Violence and Large-Scale Killings.
Trump Speaks Out on the Arrest of Pro-Palestinian Student at Columbia University
Demonstrations Break Out as Individual Ascends Big Ben with Palestinian Flag
Over 300,000 Refugees Expected to Return to Syria Amid Ongoing Crisis
Trump Urges Nuclear Talks with Iran as Tensions Escalate
US Launches AI Initiative to Track Foreign Nationals' Social Media for Terrorist Support.
US Initiates Direct Discussions with Hamas During Hostage Situation
US Government Dismisses Arab Leaders' Plan for Gaza Reconstruction
US Engages in Unprecedented Covert Talks with Hamas Regarding Hostages
Arab Leaders Approve $53 Billion Initiative for Gaza Reconstruction
Iran's Enriched Uranium Stockpile Reaches Levels for Six Nuclear Devices
Israel Indicates Willingness to Resume Military Operations in Gaza
Hamas Lets Go of Last Israeli Hostage as Part of Ceasefire Deal
Trump Adjusts Gaza Resettlement Plan Following Rejections from Regional Leaders
The negotiation teams of Trump and Putin meet directly, establishing the groundwork for a significant advance.
Israeli Minister Urges Hamas to Surrender and Depart from Gaza.
Iran Considers Moving Its Capital Due to Urban Difficulties
Israel and Hamas Finalize Sixth Exchange of Hostages and Prisoners During Continuing Gaza Ceasefire
Leaders of BRICS to Gather in Rio de Janeiro for July Summit
Muhsin Hendricks, a trailblazing openly gay imam, was killed in South Africa.
Trump's special envoy for hostage affairs cautions Hamas against challenging Trump before Saturday's deadline.
Two British citizens apprehended in Iran amid escalating tensions.
Israel Issues Threat of Military Action as Hostage Negotiations with Hamas Continue
Hamas Coordinates Worldwide Solidarity Marches in Reaction to U.S. and Israeli Initiative
Israel Warns of Ending Gaza Ceasefire Due to Hostage Situation
×