Senate Republicans have signed a letter opposing Democrats’ efforts to prosecute former President Donald Trump. Following the verdict against the former president in the Manhattan trial, lawmakers vowed to obstruct Democratic legislative initiatives as a rebuke to President Joe Biden and others involved in using the state against their political opponent.
The lettersigned by Republican Senators Mike Lee, JD Vance, Tommy Tuberville, Eric Schmitt, Marsha Blackburn, Rick Scott, Roger Marshall and Marco Rubio, accused the White House of “making a mockery of the rule of law” and fundamentally changing “our policies in an un-American way.”
The parliamentarians declared that they were “not prepared to support and encourage the White House in its plan to divide the country”:
To that end, we will 1) not allow any enhance in non-security funding for this Administration or any appropriations bill that funds partisan litigation; 2) vote for the confirmation of political and legal appointees of this Administration; and 3) not allow expedited consideration and passage of any Democratic legislation or action that is not directly related to the security of the American people.
In a post on X, Senator Lee wrote: “[s]Strong statements are not enough” and “those who have turned our justice system into a political cudgel must be held accountable.”
Strongly worded statements are not enough.
Those who have turned our justice system into a political weapon must be held accountable.
We will no longer cooperate with Democrats’ legislative priorities or nominations and invite all concerned Senators to join us. pic.twitter.com/H0CzIjXgwC
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) May 31, 2024
It is not yet clear whether Republican members of the House of Representatives will follow suit.
This is one of the latest developments in the conviction of the former president, who has already announced that he will appeal the verdict. The jury on Thursday found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying documents to conceal payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels, with whom he allegedly had a one-night stand in 2006.
The attempt to employ the legal system against Trump already appears to have backfired. Shortly after the verdict was announced, the Trump campaign and RNC fundraising websites crashed due to the number of outraged citizens trying to donate to the former president:
Shortly after the jury convicted former President Donald Trump for allegedly falsifying business records, both his campaign donation page and the Republican National Committee’s donation page crashed. The verdict appears to have sparked a massive backlash from his supporters, who rushed to donate.
Several social media users reported that the pages went offline shortly after the verdict was announced. They have been online intermittently since then.
In addition, a poll released after the verdict found that Trump’s popularity ratings had increased:
But now, after the ruling, JL Partners Poll of likely voters for the Daily Mail. Get ready for Democrats to tear their hair out over this. We warned them.
Of those who said the 34 charges had changed their minds about Donald Trump22 percent said they now view him more positively, while 16 percent said they view him more negatively.
This net result of six percentage points is another sign that the businessman turned politician appears to be able to survive crises that would destroy anyone else. [….]
In particular, the figures show a net positive effect of four percentage points among independent voters, the group that could decide on the next president in November.
If this letter and the powerful reactions to Trump’s conviction are any indication, this is just the beginning of the consequences of the trial.
