NC Republicans jump to Trump’s defense following indictment news | Opinion

It didn’t take long for North Carolina Republicans to respond to Thursday’s news. Soon after it was reported that a Manhattan grand jury had voted to indict former President Donald Trump, GOP lawmakers decried it as an injustice.

Rep. Dan Bishop said the country is descending into “third-world, despotic criminalizing of political opposition.”

If you ask Rep. Greg Murphy, it’s “just another milestone” in how far Democrats will go to attack Trump. According to Rep. Virginia Foxx, it’s no less than a “blight on justice as we know it.” Sen. Thom Tillis said the indictment “doesn’t pass the smell test.” Sen. Ted Budd called it a “disgrace.”

“History will remember this as a dark day,” said Rep. Richard Hudson.

Many of North Carolina’s representatives suggested that the Manhattan district attorney should focus on prosecuting “violent criminals” instead of the former president’s alleged wrongdoing. Most of all, they painted it as a partisan political move — an example of weaponizing the justice system for political purposes. Tillis, Foxx and Bishop even suggested that Congress should investigate the district attorney’s office.

All of this, and we haven’t even seen the indictment yet. We still don’t know the exact nature of the charges (although CNN has reported that they contain more than 30 counts related to business fraud). What we do know is that the case likely revolves around a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

It is true that this is an unprecedented situation. It’s the first time in history that a former president has been indicted for a crime. And any indictment of a former president, no matter how legitimate, is a political minefield. It will anger Trump and his supporters — it already has — and those involved with his prosecution will endure countless attacks on their credibility and character.

Which means it should be a moment in which our elected officials are responsible with their rhetoric and encourage Americans to allow the judicial process to play out. What happened to respecting the rule of law?

Unfortunately, the statements of North Carolina Republicans are a perfect example of what elected officials should not say right now. It is not the time to sow distrust in the judicial process, disparage the district attorney or fan the flames of anger, but that is exactly what they’re doing.

Their statements echo those of Trump himself, who called the indictment “political persecution” at “the highest level in history.”

“These Thugs and Radical Left Monsters have just INDICATED the 45th President of the United States of America,” Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Instead of speaking prudently like the leaders we elected them to be, Republicans are feeding into Trump’s narrative that the entire process is a witch hunt. It encourages voters to lose faith in our institutions at a time when we most need to preserve it.

Of course, the former president is innocent until proven guilty. This indictment is not a conviction, and he is free to challenge the charges brought against him in court. That the situation is unprecedented does not necessarily mean it is unjust.

Still, Trump has called for his supporters to protest his arrest — a call that some Republicans have seemingly answered. On Twitter, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said she plans to go to New York on Tuesday in order to protest. Of course, we all remember what happened the last time Trump called his supporters to act following what he believed was a grave injustice committed against him. Indeed, on Fox News, Tucker Carlson said it is “probably not the best time to give up your AR-15s.”

Enabling that kind of rhetoric — directly or indirectly — is unacceptable. It shouldn’t have to be said, but no one is above the law. That includes the rich and powerful, former presidents and, yes, even Donald Trump. It’s disappointing to see North Carolina Republicans joining the chorus of voices that seem to be implying the opposite.