The Republican Party has long proclaimed itself the party of “law and order.”
But that political philosophy does not seem to extend to the historic criminal trial of Donald Trump, which ended this week with the first ever conviction of a former president, with 12 ordinary Americans arguing on 34 counts.
Conservative allies of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee have not hesitated to defend him, joining him in denouncing the lawsuit as “rigged.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson called it a “shameful day in American history” and argued the trial was a “political” exercise, not a legal one. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the other ranking Republican in Congress, argued that the charges against Trump “should never have been filed in the first place.”
Trump’s legal challenges have so far been dismissed, but he can still appeal – and has vowed to do so – and many Republicans in Congress continue to repeat Trump’s falsehoods about the trial and the American justice system in general.
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik said despite the jury’s verdict, the trial’s outcome shows “how corrupt, rigged and un-American our weaponized justice system has become under Joe Biden and a Democratic administration.”
Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the influential House Judiciary Committee, has called on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Attorney Matthew Coangelo to testify before Congress for “political persecution,” while a group of Republican senators have vowed to block Biden’s policies from becoming law, accusing him of making a “frills for the rule of law.”
“I don’t understand how you can claim to be the party of law and order and then condemn a trial that doesn’t go the way you want it to,” William Galston, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, told ABC News of the Republican response.
In the New York trial, Trump’s attacks have been directed primarily at the district attorney, judge and jury, all of whom he claims are unfairly politically biased against him. Trump and other Republicans have targeted Bragg for being a Democrat and for the jury being made up of liberal-leaning city residents.
Their anger has also been directed at President Joe Biden, who has alleged without evidence that he is behind the prosecution, even though the case is being handled entirely at the state level.
“These are bad people,” a frustrated Trump said at Trump Tower the morning after the conviction. “I think in many cases they’re sick people.”
In his own remarks from the White House on the same day, President Biden said the rule of law had been “reaffirmed” and called any comments questioning the legitimacy of the process “reckless” and “dangerous.”
“[Trump’s] “This attack on the justice system has a long history and is part of a larger strategy to undermine the legitimacy of any aspect of the political institution or political process that criticizes him or seeks to hold him accountable for his actions,” Lisa Miller, a political science professor at Rutgers University who specializes in crime studies, told ABC News.
“As far as I know, trials in New York follow the same rules of evidence and procedures as any other criminal trial, and the defense has the same opportunity to select a jury as the prosecution,” Miller continued. “By all accounts, the judge was fair and impartial. To say otherwise only serves Donald Trump.”
Galston agreed, saying the trial “conducted within normal limits.”
“The jury selection process was normal and fair,” he said. “Each side was able to remove jurors for good cause, and a certain number of jurors were allowed to be challenged. There were never any rumors of juror misconduct, which is relatively rare in such high-profile cases.”
Trump has been a vocal opponent of the hush money case, as well as three other federal indictments against him, including more serious charges of conspiring to defraud the United States and knowingly retaining national defense information. He has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty in all cases.
In both situations, Trump and his conservative allies have argued that the real cause of wrongdoing is a corrupt justice system.
Experts said the comments were likely to have a negative impact on public trust in America’s fundamental principles.
“Unfortunately, public confidence in our American institutions is already deeply eroded,” Galston said. “Confidence in Congress is certainly at its lowest point. The presidency is not going very well either. The judiciary has enjoyed public trust and confidence for much longer than other branches of government, but that has been declining for some time and I fear this will accelerate that decline.”
