Donald Trump’s guilty verdict on 34 felony counts in a criminal trial in a New York City courtroom over paying hush money to quash an adult film actor’s tale of an affair with Trump in the years before he ran for president drew an expected mixed response from the region’s Republicans and Democrats.
Republicans called the trial and Thursday’s verdict against the former president and current candidate as a politically motivated spectacle, while Democrats called the case and its conclusion the result of Trump’s actions.
U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, said in a statement he believes in the independence of the judicial branch and following the rule of law.
“Each individual, no matter their station in life, is responsible for their actions and the recent conviction of the former President speaks for itself,” Mrvan said.
As a member of the legislative branch, Mrvan said he will continue to work on issues he can control: defending the domestic steel industry, incentivizing investments in our manufacturing and critical infrastructure, supporting unions, and restoring reproductive freedoms.
Lake County Republican Party Chairman Randy Niemeyer, who is running against Mrvan in the general election, said in a statement that the jury’s decision is “deeply disappointing and indicative of a political agenda rather than justice.”
He is hopeful an appeal will overturn the verdict.
“This verdict highlights how an activist DA can politicize our justice, which is a terrible precedent to set for the justice system in our country,” Niemeyer said.
Porter County Councilman Ronald “Red” Stone said Trump’s conviction won’t stop Stone from voting for Trump. “If he’s our Republican nominee, I would 100% support him. I can’t support high inflation. I don’t support 10 million immigrants coming across the border.”
However, Stone isn’t as focused on the national political scene as some.
“My job is to be focused on local issues,” he said, including addressing Porter County needs without raising taxes and while being fiscally responsible.
Given the controversy of the case and the verdict, several people demurred. Porter County Democratic Party Chair Don Craft declined to comment and the state party did not release a statement, standing behind one from the Biden-Harris campaign instead.
“In New York (Thursday), we saw that no one is above the law. Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain,” the statement read. “But … (the) verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.”
Likewise, Porter County Republican Party Chair Michael Simpson referred to Indiana Republican Party Chairwoman Anne Hathaway’s remarks on the verdict.
“Joe Biden and his Democrat allies’ weaponization of the American justice system is disgusting and today officially marks a sad day in U.S. history,” she said in a statement released late Thursday afternoon. “Unfortunately, the real victims are the American people who are left to deal with crippling inflation, a humanitarian crisis at the southern border, crumbling public safety, and instability across the globe. Fortunately, the American people will be heard loud and clear when Donald Trump is elected President in November.”
None of the five Republican councilmen from the Town of Munster — four of whom ran on a “Munster First” platform, which is an offshoot of Trump’s “America First” platform — responded to a request from the Post-Tribune about the verdict. A post written on the Munster Republican Central Committee’s social media page, however, blamed Judge Juan Merchan for “nefariously” influencing the trial’s outcome.
“A judge can nefariously influence the outcome of a trial through various means, including bias in jury selection, manipulating the selection process to ensure a jury that is favorable to one side,” the post reads.
The post also included, “giving the jury misleading instructions that could sway their verdict,” and “coercing or intimidating witnesses to give testimony that aligns with the judge’s preferred outcome,” among its points — none of which have been hinted at, let alone proven, in the Trump case.
Highland Town Council President Phil Scheeringa declined to comment, saying he was at work.
akukulka@chicagotribune.com
Michelle L. Quinn and Doug Ross are freelance reporters for the Post-Tribune.
