Donald Trump became the first-ever U.S. president to be arraigned on Tuesday, and a dramatic day was punctuated by social media hot takes and some minor violence outside the New York City courthouse where the former commander-in-chief plead “not guilty” to over 30 felony charges.
Despite having a lot of history in the Garden State and having easily won two GOP primary here, few N.J. Republicans with titles had much to say on Tuesday. My mailbox was almost entirely unencumbered by supportive press releases, perhaps a symptom of Trump’s landslide 2020 loss. There were, however, some notable exceptions.
“Ivanka Trump recently issued a statement saying, ‘I love my father, I love my country, and today, I am pained for both.’ This is indeed a sad day for our country, and make no mistake that America’s enemies in Beijing and the Kremlin are once again laughing at us,” said Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R, NJ-02), a vocal Trump ally who’s already endorsed him for 2024. “This is nothing more than a political witch hunt led by some half assed local district attorney who has thoroughly, utterly, and completely failed to get criminals off the street and make New York City safer. I will continue to work with Congressman Jim Jordan and my colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee to get to the bottom of this political persecution and restore the rule of law.”
Joining the chorus were two LD39 Republican legislators.
“Today’s arraignment of President Donald J. Trump by Democrat Soros funded District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a politically motivated attack on the current frontrunner for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. This unprecedented assault on a political rival is something out of a third-world country or totalitarian society. This desperate attempt to hold on to power reveals Democrats will stop at nothing to keep control,” said Assemblyman Bob Auth. “These partisans will stop at nothing to deny the American people the right to decide who leads this nation and subvert the democratic process. Bragg has concocted flimsy charges based on convoluted legal theory already rejected by prosecutors in the Manhattan DA’s office. We know Russian election interference was a hoax and now the Democrats keep piling on false narratives of criminal indictments.
“The District Attorney should concentrate on rampant out of control crime in New York City and protecting the residents of Manhattan, rather than focusing on a witch-hunt of deliberate harassment for his own political ambition,” Auth added. “As one of the first elected officials in New Jersey to endorse Donald Trump, I am steadfast in my support and continue to stand by him at this sad and troubling time for our Nation.”
Auth’s running mate state Senator Holly Schepisi, an attorney, voiced her displeasure with the situation.
“34 Felonies?!? Prosecutorial overreach which will certainly backfire,” wrote Schepisi. “While I don’t condone paying people off who are threatening to extort you this is ridiculous.”
“What a sad day for America. Creating contrived felony charges against an American Citizen because he carries the name Donald Trump. An over zealous partisan prosecutor more interested in making his political bones against the former President than protecting the people in his city who entrusted him with that responsibility,” opined state Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-26) is his own statement obtained by Save Jersey. “Where no law was broken a new law was created by manipulating a misdemeanor into multiple felony’s, making even Houdini proud. All done to fit the prosecutors political narrative, which he campaigned on ! Statute of limitations expired, not an issue. This is not the equal justice our founding fathers envisioned. This is not the Country many of us were born into. To those who applaud this judicial prosecution take heed one day they may come after you.”
The NJGOP itself didn’t comment on arraignment day, but the party’s state-level committee did issue a strong statement on Friday after news of the indictment broke criticizing DA Alvin Bragg’s clearly ideological priorities.
“Alvin Bragg has made a mockery of our justice system by allowing violent criminals to terrorize innocent New Yorkers daily, while engaging in a politically motivated prosecution of former President Trump,” the NJGOP press office declared in its statement. “This clear abuse of power should be condemned by all Americans – regardless of party – who cherish the rule of law.”
Meanwhile, the most vocal Trump critics in the legislature – Senator Jon Bramnick (R-21) – apparently opted against saying anything publicly despite being less-than-shy in the past weighing in on national controversies with no direct New Jersey tie-in.
