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Congressional Republicans stick by Trump after conviction, call it a “travesty of justice”
Washington — Republicans derided the verdict in Donald Trump’s New York “hush money” criminal trial on Thursday, sticking by their presumptive nominee for president and claiming bias by the judge — and the jury — against the former president as he was found guilty on all 34 felony counts.
“Today is a shameful day in American history,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement. “This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one.”
Trump was convicted by the jury on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an alleged sexual encounter before the 2016 presidential election. The verdict came as the presidential election is well underway, setting up an unprecedented moment, where the presumptive Republican nominee will likely be a convicted felon — and could even be imprisoned during his campaign when
But prominent Republicans wasted little time before coming to the former president’s side. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who is among a list of individuals thought to be under consideration for Trump’s running mate, called the verdict “a complete travesty that makes a mockery of our system of justice.”
“Biden and the Trump deranged left will stop at nothing to remain in power,” Rubio said in a post on social media.
Sen. J.D. Vance, an Ohio Republican who is also believed to be on the shortlist and was among a group of GOP lawmakers who traveled to the Manhattan courthouse to support the former president, said the verdict is “an absolute miscarriage of justice.”
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“The partisan slant of this jury pool shows why we ought to litigate politics at the ballot box and not in the courtroom,” he added in a post on social media.
Many Republicans have highlighted that the trial and jury selection took place in New York City, which is generally more liberal than other parts of the country. And some have accused the judge of being biased, claiming that his family has profited off of the case.
House Republican conference chair Elise Stefanik said the verdict “shows how corrupt and rigged the American justice system has become under Joe Biden.”
“I fully support President Trump appealing this decision and look forward to the New York Court of Appeals delivering justice and overturning this verdict,” Stefanik said in a statement, calling the case a “zombie case” brought by Mr. Biden’s allies to “save Biden’s failing campaign.” She added that Republicans “must redouble our efforts and work around the clock to ensure President Trump is victorious this November to save America from Biden’s failed Far Left Democrat agenda.”
Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican who leads the House Judiciary Committee, called the verdict a “travesty of justice,” alleging that it was “designed to keep President Trump off the campaign trail.”
“Americans see through Democrats’ lawfare tactics and know President Trump will be vindicated on appeal,” Jordan said.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, shared an image on social media of an upside-down flag.
Nikole Killion and Alan He contributed reporting.
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Sen. Thom Tillis says “the scope” of Helene damage in North Carolina “is more like Katrina”
As recovery missions and repairs continue in North Carolina more than a week after Hurricane Helene carved a path of devastation through the western part of the state, the state’s Republican Sen. Thom Tillis called for more resources to bolster the relief effort and likened the damage to Hurricane Katrina’s mark on Louisiana in 2005.
“This is unlike anything that we’ve seen in this state,” Tillis told CBS News’ Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday morning. “We need increased attention. We need to continue to increase the surge of federal resources.”
Hurricane Helene ripped through the Southeast U.S. after making landfall in Florida on Sept. 26 as a powerful Category 4 storm. Helene brought heavy rain and catastrophic flooding to communities across multiple states, including Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, with North Carolina bearing the brunt of the destruction. Officials previously said hundreds of roads in western North Carolina were washed out and inaccessible after the storm, hampering rescue operations, and several highways were blocked by mudslides.
Tillis said Sunday that most roads in the region likely remained closed due to flooding and debris. Water, electricity and other essential services still have not been fully restored.
“The scope of this storm is more like Katrina,” he said. “It may look like a flood to the outside observer, but again, this is a landmass roughly the size of the state of Massachusetts, with damage distributed throughout. We have to get maximum resources on the ground immediately to finish rescue operations.”
Hurricane Katrina left more than 1,000 people dead after it slammed into Louisiana’s Gulf Coast in August 2005, flooding neighborhoods and destroying infrastructure in and around New Orleans as well as in parts of the surrounding region. It was the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. in the last 50 years, and the costliest storm on record.
The death toll from Hurricane Helene is at least 229, CBS News has confirmed, with at least 116 of those deaths reported in North Carolina alone. Officials have said they expect the death toll to continue to rise as recovery efforts were ongoing, and a spokesperson for the police department in Asheville told CBS News Friday their officers were “actively working 75 cases of missing persons.”
On Saturday, the U.S. Department of Transportation released $100 million in emergency funds for North Carolina to rebuild the roads and bridges damaged by the hurricane.
“We are providing this initial round of funding so there’s no delay getting roads repaired and reopened, and re-establishing critical routes,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “The Biden-Harris administration will be with North Carolina every step of the way, and today’s emergency funding to help get transportation networks back up and running safely will be followed by additional federal resources.”
President Biden previously announced that the federal government would cover “100%” of costs for debris removal and emergency protective measures in North Carolina for six months.
With North Carolina leaders working with a number of relief agencies to deal with the aftermath of the storm, Tillis urged federal officials to ramp up the resources being funneled into the state’s hardest-hit areas. The senator also addressed a surge in conspiracy theories and misinformation about the Biden Administration’s disaster response, which have been fueled by Republican political figures like former President Donald Trump.
Trump falsely claimed that Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent in the November presidential election, were diverting funds from Federal Emergency Management Agency that would support the relief effort in North Carolina toward initiatives for immigrants. He also said baselessly that the administration and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, were withholding funds because many communities that were hit hardest are predominantly Republican. Elon Musk has shared false claims about FEMA, too.
“Many of these observations are not even from people on the ground,” Tillis said of those claims. “I believe that we have to stay focused on rescue operations, recovery operations, clearing operations, and we don’t need any of these distractions on the ground. It’s at the expense of the hard-working first responders and people that are just trying to recover their lives.”
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