Step.- Some Texas Republicans were quick to criticize Donald Trump’s criminal indictment Thursday as a politically motivated “catastrophe” after it was announced that the former president would face criminal charges.
“The Democratic Party’s hatred of Donald Trump knows no bounds. The ‘substance’ of this political persecution is pure garbage,” US Senator Ted Cruz tweeted. “This is unprecedented and a catastrophic escalation in the use of weapons by the justice system.”
Republicans, including Trump, have portrayed the impeachment as a political “witch hunt” to discredit the former president ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Recent polls currently favor Trump over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has yet to announce your candidacy. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, is also expected to run again.
“This is Political Persecution and Electoral Interference at the highest level in history. From the moment I walked down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as President of the United States, the radical left-wing Democrats… have engaged in a witch hunt to destroy the Make movement. America Great Again,” Trump said in a statement.
On Thursday afternoon, the New York Times reported that a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump for his role in paying alleged hush money to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star. Trump is the first former US president to face criminal charges in the country’s history.
The indictment has yet to be made public, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has asked Trump to surrender to the as-yet-unknown charges.
Texas Republicans echoed Trump’s claims that the impeachment is politically motivated.
State Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, quoted Joseph Stalin’s Soviet-era secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria, writing on Twitter: “Trump’s impeachment reflects the methods Stalin and his Communist Party used to destroy his political opponents.
The allegation comes less than a week after Trump held his first official 2024 campaign rally in Waco last Saturday. During the event, Trump announced his Texas Elected Leadership Team, which included Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and U.S. Representative Ronny Jackson of Amarillo, among others.
“This is a dark day in American history. President Trump’s only ‘crime’ was to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! These cowardly Democrats HATE Trump and HATE his voters even more. When Trump wins, THESE PEOPLE WILL PAY!!” Jackson said in a tweet shortly after the indictment was announced.
Jackson was one of the top White House physicians during the Trump presidency.
