President Joe Biden‘s administration declined to comment on the sensational news that Donald Trump has been indicted over a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels while top Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi called for peace and calm.
The White House has consistantly refused to comment on any of the Trump cases, taking the strategy of simply staying quiet and out of the way as the legal process goes forward.
That continued on Thursday after the formal indictment came down from a Mahanttan grand jury with a White House officially telling DailyMail.com the administration declined to comment on the matter.
Pelosi and Schumer, who were Trump’s bete noires on Capitol Hill during his turbulent presidency, both released statements, where they said no one is above the law and called for peace.
‘The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law. No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence. Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right,’ Pelosi said.
Schumer noted ‘a jury, not politics,’ will decide Trump’s fate. The charges against the former president have yet to be revealed.
‘Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law. There should be no outside political influence, intimidation or interference in the case. I encourage both Mr. Trump’s critics and supporters to let the process proceed peacefully and according to the law,’ Schumer said in a statement.
President Joe Biden’s White House declined to comment on Trump’s indictment
Trump has previously called for protests amid reports an indictment was coming down. He has warned of ‘death and destruction’ if he’s indicted.
He has repeatedly attacked the judicial system and claimed to be a victim of its weaponization.
He continued that argument after the news of his indictment dropped, arguing it will backfire on Biden.
‘I believe this witch-hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden,’ he said in a statement. ‘The American people realize exactly what the radical left democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it.’
The former president is leading the polls to be the Republican nominee in next year’s presidential race. A new poll out on Thursday showed him gaining support as GOP voters showed sympathy to him.
Many Democrats, however, believe that Americans won’t want to vote for him after he became the first ever former president to face criminal charges.
The Democratic National Committee, the political wing for Biden, said that Democrats would hold Republicans ‘accountable’ to their support for Trump and his agenda.
‘No matter what happens in Trump’s upcoming legal proceedings, it’s obvious the Republican Party remains firmly in the hold of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans. We will continue to hold Trump and all Republican candidates accountable for the extreme MAGA agenda that includes banning abortion, cutting Social Security and Medicare, and undermining free and fair elections,’ DNC National Press Secretary Ammar Moussa said in a statement.
Most Democratic lawmakers simply reacted with a version of ‘no one is above the law’ after the news of the indictment broke.
A grand jury has been hearing evidence about allegations that Donald Trump paid $130,000 to adult movie star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence over their affair
Donald Trump claimed the indictment will backfire on Joe Biden
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, who is running for Senate, said everyone must be held accountable.
‘The indictment of a former president is unprecedented. But so too is the unlawful conduct in which Trump has been engaged. A nation of laws must hold the rich and powerful accountable, even when they hold high office. Especially when they do. To do otherwise is not democracy,’ he wrote on Twitter.
Schiff led the Democrats’ case during Trump’s first impeachment. The then-president was cleared by the Senate.
And Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman, who worked for Schiff and helped prosecute Trump during his first impeachment, called for calm.
‘As the process plays out, every elected official from across the ideological spectrum must make unequivocally clear that there is no room for political violence or interference. Donald Trump’s defense must take place in the court of law, not in the halls of Congress or in the political sphere,’ he said.
Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, who tangled with Trump during his presidency, was more gleeful.
‘SO Trump finally got indicted! I predicted he would and I predicted that Stormy Daniels would get him! Sometimes justice works!,’ she tweeted.
And California Rep. Eric Swalwell tweeted: ‘The indictment of a former president is a somber day for America. It’s also a time to put faith in our judicial system. Donald Trump deserves every protection provided to him by the Constitution. As that unfolds, let us neither celebrate nor destroy. Justice benefits us all.’
