Trump Condemns Indictment, Democrats

"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," former President Donald Trump said in a statement Thursday about his criminal indictment by a New York grand jury. He blamed his political opponents, the Hill reports. "The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to 'Get Trump,' but now they’ve done the unthinkable—indicting a completely innocent person," he wrote. Others reacting to the revelation include:

• Ron DeSantis: The Florida governor, calling the indictment "un-American" in a tweet, said his state won't cooperate with any request to extradite Trump to New York to face the charges. The governor can step into such cases under state law if the extradition is contested, but Trump's lawyers have said they don't expect to fight a request, per the Hill. DeSantis has been pressured by Trump allies to block extradition.
• Congressional Democrats: A recurring theme was that the indictment shows that no one is above the law, per the Washington Post. Rep. Adam Schiff said the indictment "is unique throughout all of American history. But so too is the unlawful conduct for which Trump has been charged." Rep. Eric Swalwell urged Americans to neither "celebrate nor destroy" over the indictment. He called on Democrats and Republicans to condemn Trump's encouragement of violence. "We are better than that and justice benefits all of us," Swalwell wrote.
• Congressional Republicans: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has damaged the country in an effort to interfere in a presidential election. "The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account," McCarthy said. Rep. Elise Stefanik issued a statement referring to "unprecedented election interference from corrupt Socialist District Attorney Alvin Bragg," though the decision to indict was made by a grand jury of citizens. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called for impeaching President Biden.
• Stormy Daniels' lawyer: "The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy," Clark Brewster tweeted. "The hard work and conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected. Now let truth and justice prevail." Daniels, who appeared before the grand jury, retweeted his post and added, "Thank you."
• Demonstrators in New York: People gathered outside Trump Tower in Manhattan to mark the indictment. "It's still sinking in," said a 73-year-old man. "The justice system, it's slow, but it gets there." A 27-year-old man from California said: "I think he's only getting indicted because of who he is, being President Trump. They're trying to take him off his campaign trail." A 20-year-old student held a small sign reading, "Trump is Over," per the Times. "I'm hoping that the trial works out and he is in trouble for this," she said, "but it's very hard to say, because he's an extremely wealthy and an extremely well-protected man."

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