11:27 p.m. ET, June 8, 2023
Lawmakers and political candidates react to Trump's federal indictment
From CNN’s Hill team
A few of former President Donald Trump’s staunchest congressional allies, presidential candidates and other officials have begun to weigh in on the news that he has been indicted.
In a tweet reacting to the indictment Thursday,
Rep. Matt Gaetz referenced an
unverified allegation that President Joe Biden
was involved in a bribery scheme involving a foreign national while vice president.
“Imagine being naive enough to believe that the Biden Bribe evidence and Trump indictment happening the same day was a coincidence.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also mentioned allegations made against Biden, calling Thursday's indictment against Trump "shameful" and "pathetic."
"Ultimately the biggest hypocrisy in modern day history," she wrote on Twitter. "A complete and total failure to the American people. A stain on our nation that the FBI and DOJ are so corrupt and they don’t even hide it anymore."
Rep. Jim Jordan said that it is a “sad day for America." "God Bless President Trump," he added.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called the indictment "an affront to every citizen."
"We cannot devolve into a banana republic where the party in power uses police force to arrest its political opponents," he said in a statement. "It’s hypocritical for the DOJ to selectively prosecute Trump but not Biden."
Presidential candidate,
Gov. Chris Christie, tweeted that he wanted to wait until the facts about a possible indictment were released.
"As I have said before, no one is above the law, no matter how much they wish they were. We will have more to say when the facts are revealed,” he said.
Another candidate, Sen. Tim Scott, offered his prayers for the nation in an interview with Fox News when asked if he had spoken to Trump about the indictment.
“I certainly will continue to pray for our nation and continue to pray that justice prevails,” said Scott, not offering a direct answer on if he spoke to Trump or would reach out to the former president.
Steve Laffey, who is also vying for the presidency, criticized the former president, saying in a statement Thursday that Trump "continues to make a mockery of the electoral process."
"Enough is enough," Laffey said. "President Trump will have more court appearances than campaign stops at this rate."
GOP presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson, who has been critical of Trump, called on the former president to “respect the office and end his campaign” in the wake of being indicted by federal prosecutors.
"Donald Trump's actions—from his willful disregard for the Constitution to his disrespect for the rule of law—should not define our nation or the Republican Party. This is a sad day for our country,” Hutchinson said in a statement.
Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is also running for president,
tweeted that the indictment represented a "weaponization of federal law enforcement."
“Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter? The DeSantis administration will bring accountability to the DOJ, excise political bias and end weaponization once and for all.”