Hawaii’s Congressional delegation reacted to Tuesday’s news of a third indictment of former President Donald Trump with a mix of historical reflection, moral resolution and a dash of told-you-so.
In a statement released shortly after the announcement that a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., had indicted Trump on charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda invoked the United States’ standing as a “beacon of democracy, with free and fair elections unobstructed from domestic or foreign influence as the cornerstone to the success of our nation.
“As we mark the third indictment for former President Trump, the gravest charges ever faced by an American president, we are reminded how fragile our democracy can be,” Tokuda said. “In the months leading up to the 2020 elections, President Trump pushed false claims of election fraud and sought to block the peaceful transition of power. When his efforts to overturn the election failed, Trump cowardly turned to violence, inspiring the January 6th insurrection that defiled the United States Capitol and resulted in the deaths of U.S. Capitol Police Officers. His instructions to the mob to ‘fight like hell’ at the Capitol was a direct violation to his sworn oath of office to ‘preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States’ and it cut at the very core of our democracy.”
Tokuda said she was confident that Trump would be held accountable for his alleged offenses.
“If we are to strengthen and uphold our values as a country, then we must show that words matter, and actions have consequences,” Tokuda said. “I have full faith and confidence that this case will proceed fairly through our legal system and that he will be held fully accountable for any and all transgressions committed.”
U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono sounded a similar note in addressing criminal efforts to interfere with the transfer of power and the chaos of the Jan. 6 insurrection they ultimately fostered.
“January 6th was one of the darkest days in our nation’s history and the grand jury’s indictment speaks to the seriousness of the crimes alleged,” Hirono said. “While all defendants are innocent until proven guilty, no one—including former presidents—is above the law.”
Taking to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz took a jab at those who early on dismissed pursuing charges against Trump as a fool’s errand.
“Lots of very famous and very wealthy pundits said specifically that the January 6 Committee was a tactical error on Pelosi’s part and said that being worried about an attempted coup was paranoid and unfounded, and they will tweet right through it,” Schatz tweeted. “I just hope we don’t let this distract us a from record job growth, inflation dropping, the biggest climate action ever, an infrastructure bill, the first gun safety bill in a generation and expanding healthcare for veterans.”