Some of former president Donald Trump’s sharpest critics hailed the news that a grand jury in Manhattan had indicted the former president for allegedly paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election.
Former represetative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who was one of only 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Mr Trump in 2021, said he did not celebrate the indictment but said it was important.
“Today is a somber day for our nation. Donald Trump committed many crimes, but this indictment should be a reminder that in America, NO ONE is above the law. We must move forward and let justice prevail. The anti-democratic threat, however, hasn’t diminished.”
Mr Trump is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN.
In 2019, Mr Trump led a chant of “send her back” for Representatives Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. But on Thursday evening, Ms Omar said elected officials like Mr Trump need to be held accountable.
“Our democracy rests on the rule of law. When someone—no matter how powerful they are—is suspected of a criminal act, our justice system investigates, charges, and convicts them in accordance with due process,” he tweeted. “This is just one of many criminal acts for which Donald Trump is being investigated.”
Representative Jamaal Bowman of New York added that the indictment of Mr Trump in Manhattan was not the only reason he could face legal troubles.
“Trump attempted to illegally overturn election results in Georgia and worked to incite the insurrection at the Capitol, both in an effort to overthrow our government to advance his fascist cause,” he tweeted. “His continued calls for protests following his arrest are just another dog whistle for his followers: destroy our democracy.”
Mr Bowman said that Mr Trump should be banned from holding public office permanently.
George Conway, who is currently in the process of divorcing top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, noted how the indictment came right before the grand jury was set to take a pre-planned break.
“[I]t's so good to see that the ol'-drop-it-in-the-mail-just-before-leaving-on-vacation trick is alive and well,” he tweeted.
Former representative Mondaire Jones of New York criticised Republican defences of the former president.
“Republican officials are claiming it’s relatable that Donald Trump paid hush money to a porn star in order to win a presidential election, then manipulated official business records to conceal his campaign finance violations,” he said. “Weird.”
Mr Jones later cheekily quote-tweeted a story noting how actress Gwyneth Paltrow won a ski accident lawsuit.
“Just a truly important day for our justice system,” he tweeted.
