Trump conviction sparks sharply divergent reactions on Capitol Hill | Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records sparked a political firestorm in Washington on Thursday, with Republicans furiously criticizing the verdict as a miscarriage of justice while Democrats praised a New York jury for delivering a fair verdict in one of the most historic trials in history. American history.

Republicans unexpectedly rallied around Trump, repeating their baseless accusations that the Biden administration was engaged in political persecution of the former US president.

“Today is a shameful day in American history,” said Mike Johnson, speaker of the Republican House. “This was purely a political exercise, not a legal one. Arming our justice system has been a hallmark of the Biden administration, and today’s decision is further proof that democrats they will stop at nothing to silence dissent and crush their political opponents.

Congressman Jim Jordan, the raucous right-wing Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, similarly bemoaned the verdict as a “travesty of justice,” adding: “The kangaroo court in Manhattan shows what happens when our justice system is armed with bias prosecutors before a biased judge with an unfair trial.”

Some of Trump’s advisers and family members were even more blunt in their assessment of the sentence. “Such bullshit,” Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son, wrote of X.

A number of Trump allies predicted the conviction would be overturned on appeal and would only galvanize Republican voters in the election, while at least one lawmaker suggested the verdict would set a dangerous precedent.

“This sentence says more about the system than the charges. It will be perceived as politically motivated and unfair, and it will have a huge backlash on the political left,” said Republican Senator and close Trump ally Lindsey Graham. “I’m afraid we’ve opened Pandora’s box in terms of the presidency itself.”

Democrats, meanwhile, were more muted in their response to the verdict, casting the jury’s decision as a reflection of the strength of the US justice system.

“In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law. Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed that he would never face consequences for breaking the law for personal gain,” said Michael Tyler, communications director for the Biden campaign.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, said the verdict confirmed Trump was “unfit to lead the greatest nation in the world.”

“Only in honest courtrooms has the former president been able to lie and get out of trouble,” Whitehouse said. “Americans trust juries for good reason.”

Sen. Chris Coons, Democrat, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, added: “I commend the jurors for their service and urge all Americans, regardless of party affiliation, to accept and respect the outcome of this trial.”

After dismissing the sentence as a “disgrace,” Trump immediately turned his sentence into a campaign theme, sending out a fundraising email to supporters describing himself as a “political prisoner.”

“But with your support at this moment in history, WE WILL TAKE BACK THE WHITE HOUSE AND MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” the email read. “WE NEED TO MAKE JOE BIDEN REGRET HE HAS CATCHED US UP!”

Neither does the National Republican Senatorial Committee issued fundraising campaign after the jury delivered its verdict, attacking the trial as a “witch hunt”.

Biden himself declined to comment or react to Thursday’s verdict; Ian Sams, a spokesman for the White House counsel’s office, said in a statement: “We respect the rule of law and have no further comment.”

But Biden’s campaign team has made it clear that the president will continue to pursue his own case against Trump as the country looks ahead to November.

“Today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people are facing a simple reality,” Tyler said. “There’s still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box.” Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican Party’s nominee for president.