LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On Thursday, May 30, 2024, a jury found former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.
Trump faces three other felony indictments, but the New York case may be the only one to reach a conclusion before the November election, adding to the significance of the outcome. Though the legal and historical implications of the verdict are readily apparent, the political consequences are less so given its potential to reinforce rather than reshape already-hardened opinions about Trump.
Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that while Trump was found guilty there was "no underlying crime."
"Partisan hacks serving as judges, investigators, and prosecutors have turned our legal system into a farce at both the state and federal level," he said.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul called it a "sad day for America."
"How long can our Republic survive once partisans have taken over the judicial process?" he asked on X. "This verdict will tragically undermine Americans' confidence in impartial justice."
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell posted on X that the "charges never should have been brought in the first place," and that he expects it to be overturned on appeal.
Meanwhile, Democratic Congressman Morgan McGarvey said "a New York Jury has spoken":
"Donald Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a felony (34 to be exact). In America, no one is above the law. Donald Trump, the convicted felon, is the presumptive Republican nominee for president and he is unfit to serve in any public office, especially President of the United States."
Over in Indiana, Sen. Mike Brawn said the case was an abuse of the justice system:
"This case was a blatant abuse of our justice system as a political weapon by a radical prosecutor trying to interfere in the election, and the verdict proves that this was just a show trial all along. Trump is going to win in November because Americans are sick of these political games when the price of everything has doubled in 4 years and the world is at war because of Joe Biden’s weakness and incompetence."
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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