Democrats react to Trump indictment: ‘The chaos continues’

Democrat lawmakers were quick to react following the news that former President Donald Trump had been indicted on charges connected to his handling of classified documents, with some saying that the former president is not “above the law” and calling his behavior “extremist” and “toxic.”

“No one is above the law,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said in a Twitter post. 

“The chaos of Trump continues,” Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) said on Twitter. “What he’s doing to this country, the extremism and danger he and his allies present, has to end. Only when those who support and enable him decide to be done with this toxic behavior, will this all be behind us.”

While many Republican lawmakers accused the Justice Department of attempting to interfere with the upcoming 2024 presidential election, Democrats called the indictment an “affirmation of the rule of law.”

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“Trump’s apparent indictment on multiple charges arising from his retention of classified materials is another affirmation of the rule of law,” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) wrote in a Twitter post. “For four years, he acted like he was above the law. But he should be treated like any other lawbreaker. And today, he has been.”

“Grand Jury votes to indict Trump!” tweeted Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), cheering the decision. 

“It’s time that we ensure Trump is banned from running for any public office again,” echoed Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) in a press release.

Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) shared in the celebration, saying the indictment is “one of many steps” toward eliminating Trump as a threat to fair elections.

“I will always believe that this twice-impeached former president is a threat to our democracy,” he tweeted.  

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Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) tweeted a short clip of a crowd of women giving a standing ovation. And Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) shared a short response to Trump’s indictment, writing, “Good,” in a Twitter post along with an image of the former president. 

Other lawmakers responded in a more subdued manner, saying that Trump is “innocent until proven guilty” and 

“Everyone is innocent until proven guilty,” Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) said in a Twitter post. “But we don’t need a judge or jury to determine if his destruction of decency and dangerous incompetence continues to stain America.”

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Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) cautioned Republicans against what he called the “dangerous rhetoric about a ‘two-tiered system of justice.’”

“Instead of trying to divide the country and undercut our legal system, Congressional Republicans should respect the outcome of the Special Counsel’s comprehensive investigation and the decisions of the citizens serving on the grand jury,” Raskin said in a statement, warning that “rhetoric about a ‘two tiered system of justice,” to “prop up” the former President “not only undermines the Department of Justice but betrays the essential principle of justice that no one is above the commands of law, not even a former President or a self-proclaimed billionaire.”

This is the second time Trump has been indicted this year. Trump pleaded not guilty in April after being charged by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

Trump has been ordered to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday, June 13.