Nevada lawmakers see justice, persecution in Trump’s indictment
Nevada Republicans spoke out in support of former Republican President Donald Trump following the announcement Thursday that he was indicted, while Nevada Democrats emphasized holding all people accountable for their actions.
The Nevada Republican Party called Trump’s indictment on charges he covered up a hush-money payment to alleged former lover Stormy Daniels “bogus” in a Thursday statement, saying it was politically motivated and an “attack on the rule of law,” going against an “impartial and equal justice system.”
“This isn’t prosecution,” the statement says, “it’s persecution.”
The Nevada GOP also argued all Americans should stand against politically motivated prosecutions.
“Democrats are putting their quest for power over the well-being of our country,” the statement says. “You don’t have to agree with President Donald Trump’s policies to recognize that this prosecution is wrong, and is a dangerous path that has no place in our country.”
Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., speaking in his capacity as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said in a statement the indictment is a “somber day” for the U.S.
The case brought against Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is “legitimate,” Horsford said, and now is not the time for political attacks against an “open and transparent system that is holding someone accountable.”
Horsford added that in the last several weeks Trump verbally attacked Bragg and district attorney investigators on social media.
“We call on our Republican colleagues to put Party aside and condemn the former president’s words and allow the legal process to move forward as it would for any other citizen, because no one is above the law, not even a former president of the United States,” Horsford said in the statement.
Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford urged calm following the news of the indictment, comparing Trump’s verbal attacks on the investigators involved in the indictment to the public statements he made ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot in the U.S. Capitol.
He said the indictment was necessary to ensure no one is above the law and pushed back against the idea that the indictment is political.
“This is a bad faith argument meant to distract from the hard work done by law enforcement in uncovering evidence and securing this indictment,” Ford said on Twitter.
“The legal process must take its course,” he said on Twitter.” I, like many Americans, will be watching closely.”
Rep. Mark Amodei, the only Republican in Nevada’s congressional delegation, blamed the indictment on politics.
“Never in our lifetime has one group of people felt so threatened by a presidential candidate, and that has been proven by District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s political persecution of Donald Trump,” Amodei said. “The American people are fully capable of choosing the next President, and they can do so without this cheap, political circus.”
Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on Twitter.
