Jakarta –
Former President of the United States (US) Donald Trump was indicted by a jury in Manhattan court in New York, United States of America (USA) in connection with the hush money case against a porn star during the 2016 presidential election campaign. A number of Republicans in the US Congress responded to the looming indictment Donald Trump by characterizing the criminal justice system as corrupt.
Reported by Reuters, Sunday (2/4/2023), Trump and his allies in the House and Senate have presented his false rhetorical claims of widespread election fraud ahead of the January 6, 2021 deadly attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.
Meanwhile, critics warn the current partisan rhetoric could shake public confidence in the courts by undermining the institutional legitimacy of the criminal justice system.
“Trump’s indictment is the culmination of 6 years of Democrats arming law enforcement to target and persecute their political enemies. Dictatorships operate like this – the US should be different,” tweeted Senator Ted Cruz, a hardline Republican who voted to overturn the 2020 election results.
Trump says he is not guilty of charges related to paying bribes to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. The details of the charges remain unclear.
Trump said the investigation and three others involving his efforts to undo his 2020 election loss and keeping secret documents after leaving the White House were all politically motivated.
Meanwhile most Democrats have warned against challenging the legitimacy of government agencies to defend Trump. According to him, political leaders must defend the US system of government.
“Political leaders must defend America’s system of government,” said Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren, a member of the House Judiciary Committee who also served on the congressional investigation into the January 6 attacks.
“Underestimating the government system is a serious problem and a threat to our future,” he said in an interview.
In recent weeks Trump has been unrestrained in his rhetoric, calling for protests and warning of potential “death & destruction” if he is prosecuted.
He used fiery language hours before his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, in a bid to reverse his election loss. Following the incident five people including one police officer were killed during or shortly after the rioting and more than 140 police officers were injured. The Capitol suffered millions of dollars in damage.
Watch Video ‘Trump Charged with Bribery of Pornstar Stormy Daniels’:
(yld/gbr)
