TEXAS — Despite his mounting legal troubles, Texas Republicans in Congress are standing by former President Donald Trump. Many are voicing anger that Trump has become the first former president charged with a crime. So far, no Republicans have been critical of Trump, or said they wanted to withhold judgment until the indictment is made public.
“Ronny Jackson in the White House, you know, they said, this guy is brilliant,” Trump told supporters last weekend during his first campaign rally in Waco.
The Texas Republicans whom the former president thanked during his rally in Waco last weekend immediately came to his defense after the news broke Thursday that a Manhattan grand jury had indicted him.
Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Amarillo, tweeted, “This is a dark day in American history.”
Although the Manhattan district attorney has not yet released the charges, Texas Republicans have been quick to call it “political persecution” — and one lawmaker told Spectrum News it was not too soon to say so.
“It’s unprecedented. And if you’re going to charge any former president with a crime, it better be an ironclad case,” Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, said in an interview with Spectrum News. “Do you really believe that if Donald Trump had never been a political figure that this DA would have brought these particular charges? I think the answer to that is obvious. Absolutely not. So this is politically motivated.”
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Fort Bend, immediately supported Trump after he officially announced another run for the White House. In November, Nehls told Spectrum News, “He’s my guy. I saddle my horse. We’re going to the winner’s circle together.”
Nehls tweeted, “Real America knows this is all a sham.” Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lake Dallas, wrote on Twitter, “The Justice system should never be used for political grandstanding.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, recorded what he called an “emergency podcast” to respond.
“This indictment is utter and complete garbage. This is not law. This is not a prosecution based on the facts. This is a political vendetta brought by a left-wing partisan Democrat,” Cruz said on “Verdict with Ted Cruz,” which was released Friday morning.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, sent a brief comment on the matter. He said, “It looks to me like this is an opportunity for this DA to try to make headlines and gain publicity.”
Even though Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, is endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over Trump for president, he tweeted, “DA lets New York City turn into a crime hellhole and then abuses authority.”
It's no surprise that reaction to the indictment is divided along party lines. Some Texas Democrats echoed what has been said nationally from Democrats: no one is above the law.
“No former president should be immune from going before a jury if there’s sufficient evidence found by police and prosecutors,” Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, told Spectrum News.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, who played a key role in the second impeachment of Trump, tweeted, “May justice be served, finally.”