Donald Trump is now facing federal indictments in three different jurisdictions with a probable fourth indictment (Georgia) on its way. In case you missed it, yesterday Trump was indicted over efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Here are some of the indictment’s opening lines:
The Defendant lost the 2020 presidential election. Despite having lost, the Defendant was determined to remain in power. So for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020, the Defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won. But the Defendant repeated and widely disseminated them anyway–to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election.
The former president was indicted on four counts:
Conspiracy to defraud the United States. This is described in the indictment as the use of “dishonesty, fraud, and deceit to impair, obstruct, and defeat the lawful federal government function by which the results of the presidential election are collected, counted, and certified by the federal government.” CNN has identified five of Trump’s six “co-conspirators.” They are Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, and Kenneth Chesebro and Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark. This count received the longest and most thorough narrative in the document. I encourage you to read it here.
Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. This count is described in the indictment as a “conspiracy to corruptly obstruct and impede the January 6 congressional proceeding at which the collected results of the presidential election are counted and certified.”
Obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceedings: This is a separate count based on Trump’s attempt to “obstruct” and “impede” the certification of the electoral vote.
Conspiracy against rights. This is described in the indictment as a “conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted.”
Trump responded:
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.
But why did they wait two and a half years to bring these fake charges, right in the middle of President Trumpâs winning campaign for 2024? Why was it announced the day after the big Crooked Joe Biden scandal broke out from the Halls of Congress?
The answer is, election interference! The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes. President Trump has always followed the law and the Constitution, with advice from many highly accomplished attorneys.
These un-American witch hunts will fail and President Trump will be re-elected to the White House so he can save our Country from the abuse, incompetence, and corruption that is running through the veins of our Country at levels never seen before. Three years ago we had strong borders, energy independence, no inflation, and a great economy. Today, we are a nation in decline. President Trump will not be deterred by disgraceful and unprecedented political targeting!
The GOP continues to be in denial about Trump’s indiscretions. According to one writer, they are in a “moral abyss.” Here are some Twitter responses:
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy:
Weâve recently learned:⢠Hunter received money from China (contradicting President Bidenâs claim) ⢠President Biden spoke with Hunterâs business associates over 20 times (contradicting what Biden previously claimed) ⢠Bidenâs DOJ tried to secretly give Hunter broad immunity and admitted the sweetheart deal was unprecedented And just yesterday a new poll showed President Trump is without a doubt Bidenâs leading political opponent.  Everyone in America could see what was going to come next: DOJâs attempt to distract from the news and attack the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, President Trump.  House Republicans will continue to uncover the truth about Biden Inc. and the two-tiered system of justice.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise:
House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik:
Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn:
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley:
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham:
Florida governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis:
As President, I will end the weaponization of government, replace the FBI Director, and ensure a single standard of justice for all Americans. While Iâve seen reports, I have not read the indictment. I do, though, believe we need to enact reforms so that Americans have the right to remove cases from Washington, DC to their home districts. Washington, DC is a âswampâ and it is unfair to have to stand trial before a jury that is reflective of the swamp mentality. One of the reasons our country is in decline is the politicization of the rule of law. No more excusesâI will end the weaponization of the federal government.
Mike Pence:
Former New Jersey governor and presidential candidate Chris Christie:
Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy just pulled this stunt:
I just filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice following its failure to substantively respond to my Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to uncover what White House officials including President Joe Biden communicated to Merrick Garland & Jack Smith about the unprecedented indictment in the classified documents case of a former U.S. President and one of Biden’s political opponents in the 2024 Presidential election. Iâm also filing a separate FOIA request with the DOJ to uncover any similar communications relating to the just-issued Jan 6 Trump indictment. We should demand accountability and transparency. In U.S. v. Alvarez, the Supreme Court held that political candidates have a First Amendment right to knowingly make inaccurate statements. If you’re going to indict a former president and leading presidential candidate, it better not be based on unprecedented legal theory. Further, it’s more than a stretch to call something criminal if someone is seeking legal counsel from their own lawyers. Jack Smith has created a dangerous precedent by criminalizing the behavior of Trump’s lawyers who offered him legal advice, labeling them co-conspirators instead. This jeopardizes the future of our legal system. If we fail to admit the truth, Jan 6 will just be a preview of far worse to come. We must reunite this country, but the path forward will not be easy.
South Carolina senator and presidential candidate Tim Scott:
Evangelicals are also responding:
Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA:
If Jack Smith’s revenge indictment is successful and Trump is convicted, it will set a new standard for America: From now on, no presidential candidate that the Washington establishment dislikes will be allowed to publicly challenge or even question the results of an election. Obviously, it’s not a ban on ALL election disputes. We won’t indict people who said Al Gore won in 2000. We won’t indict Hillary Clinton, who blamed “Russian disinfo” for her shocking electoral defeat. If you’re a liberal and claim the election was stolen by Russian bogeymen, that’s fine! If you suppress damning stories about a laptop belonging to a candidate’s son by calling it fake even when you know it’s real, that’s fine too! Just as long as you also agree with Washington. For anyone else, you have to forfeit your First Amendment right if you run for president. And if the results of your race look a lot like fraud, well, too bad. If you say anything, have fun going to prison. That’s not America. That’s Zimbabwe.
Trump court journalist David Brody:
The more indictments that come in against Trump, the closer he gets to becoming President of the United States. What The Left and the MSM (one in the same) will never acknowledge is that the breakdown of faith and trust in our public institutions (government, media, etc) is DIRECTLY related to why Trump rises. They see Trump as a VICTIM of an unfair, immoral, unethical system.
Mike Huckabee is motivated:
Evangelical worship leader Sean Feucht:
I am sure there will be more evangelical responses today. We will try to keep track of them.
In the meantime, I am reminded of Chris Christie’s recent claim on CNN:
One expects the Republicans to spout such nonsense as they have, but for Christians to do so also is abhorrent. Affirming the Republican lies and adding their own to them is ungodly, worldly and not following the mind of Christ. None of those who speak such nonsense as Christians are hardly ambassadors of Christ, which makes them ambassadors of someone else.