(The Center Square ) – Republican leaders in Texas are blasting the guilty verdict of former President Donald Trump, arguing it was a “sham, show trial” in a “Kangaroo Court” that never should have happened.
A Manhattan jury on Thursday convicted Trump on all 34 counts in a trial over whether the former president falsified business records to disguise payments to an adult film star over an alleged affair. Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered her to pay over $600,000 in Trump attorney fees in a civil case she brought.
In what critics described as a political witch hunt by a billionaire activist George Soros-backed district attorney, some legal analysts argue there was no case and key witnesses lied under oath.
After the verdict was issued, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said, “This was a sham show trial. The Kangaroo Court will never stand on appeal. Americans deserve better than a sitting U.S. President weaponizing our justice system against a political opponent – all to win an election. We must FIRE Joe Biden in November.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the guilty verdict “is an absolute travesty of our judicial system. There was no crime, and the prosecution’s star witness was a convicted liar and an admitted thief. The judge was biased against President Trump throughout the entire trial. This will be reversed at some point, but the Democrats got what they wanted – to prosecute and persecute a man they know they cannot beat in November.”
He also reiterated what many of his colleagues argue, “If the justice system can do this to a former president, it can do it to anyone in America. That should frighten every American.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the “sham trial is an absolute travesty of justice. The absolute sham trial was designed with one purpose: to label Donald Trump as a ‘convicted felon.’ This was not law. This was not criminal justice. This was all politics. I’m here to tell you right now this will be reversed on appeal.”
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, who endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president in the GOP primary, said, “The verdict was a foregone conclusion executed by a corrupt Manhattan legal regime for a specific desired political outcome. This charade has been nothing more than an affront to the rule of law and the fabric that has kept this country together.”
U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls said, “The Left has weaponized our nation’s justice system to attack Joe Biden’s top political opponent, President Trump. But it isn’t working. This show trial is election interference, and the American people know it.”
Nehls also noted that Merchan donated to President Biden’s campaign.
